Three's a Crowd
by Eternal-Night-Ride
Summary: Upon escaping from Plumber prison, Albedo sets course to seek revenge and retrieve the Omnitrix from the Hero of Heroes, Ben Tennyson. On the way, an unexpected encounter occurs. One that makes the procedure of revenge all the more difficult.
1. First on the Agenda

**Three's a Crowd**

_Author's Notes:_ I said I wasn't going to write any more fanfiction for fear that I may fail to finish it. Unfortunately, I still wrote anyway. The severe lack of Ben/Julie fics, however, forced my hand. XD Take this in good humor and hope that my hardworking streak stays long enough to finish it. This was derived from the pictures I drew: http:// kapaychan . deviantart . com/art/Three-s-a-Crowd-151802906, http:// kapaychan . deviantart . com/art/Fate-will-Twist-151675987. Just remove all the spaces. :D There's a preview of the next chapter for anyone who cares to look in the Three's a Crowd art.

_Pairing:_ Ben/Julie/Albedo and Gwen/Kevin

_Summary:_ Upon escaping from Plumber prison, Albedo sets course to seek revenge and retrieve the Omnitrix from the Hero of Heroes, Ben Tennyson. On the way, an unexpected encounter occurs. One that makes the procedure of revenge all the more difficult.

Chapter 1: First on the Agenda

Anger. Relentless and constant, like the pulse that beat underneath the disgusting hairy bag of flesh that contained him, built upon him during the endless time spent within the dark box that was supposed to enclosed him.

One desire fueled the starving figure in the dark cell, his teeth gritting in sheer unadulterated frustration when a green stick that was supposedly sustenance rolled down the floor in front of him. Enough time had taught the figure not to underestimate the ability of the human tongue to eventually adapt to something out of gnawing hunger.

Having spent enough time in his prison, he had already acknowledged that not having the strength to pursue his only desire would be disadvantagious.

The disgusting stench of onions and the memory of grease spreading on his tongue was starting to sound incredibly pleasurable in the face of the tasteless stick he placed in his hand. Craving that particular food had become torturous, now that his sleep had become plagued with the appalling wishes of his body.

He knew for certain that the true prison was not the box that surrounded him but the putrid, sweaty body he was stuck in.

All the while, constantly reminding the figure of his one desire. The only idea that allowed him to tolerate any more of his situation: the delicious prospect of vengeance.

----

He was innovative. There was enough technology in the prison to incorporate into his escape strategy.

This was what Azmuth had failed to consider, for all his seeming intelligence. Perhaps this error-riddled section of his brain was also the one that decided to integrate such an important weapon to the genetic information of a lowly human.

His hand hovered over the Plumber prison's building plan, navigating through the map with relative ease. His finger pointed at a shorter direction than the others he had considered. Every now and again, he stared at the clock to check whether or not the Plumbers would instigate another roll call.

It was utterly humiliating how much they had underestimated him. It was partially understandable, what with humans being incapable of greater feats of strength in comparison to the other creatures in the jail. Those were placed in the high security section, far enough away from where he was currently standing. He was placed much closer to the observation room, littered with screens that monitored every step of the criminals. It was easy enough to hack into the camera placed in his cell so that it showed that he was still there.

Unplugging the device, a small blinking image told the figure that the entire building plan had already been stored into it. Smiling darkly to himself, he slinked back a few steps to return to his cell before the closest Plumber would notice that anyone had even stepped foot into the corridors.

The unfortunate issue with his body was that he had once attempted to use it to escape. The vulnerability of it could not withstand the pummeling of the Plumbers once they had realized he had attempted escape.

He realized that subtlety was the only way he could get out. Attempting to weather his impatience only built up the anger more, however.

---

The breathe of the cool night air on the dark planet was invigorating but he could only indulge in this sensation for a few seconds before he immediately went back to hacking the ship. It was giving him greater difficulty than he imagined it would.

Blaring alarms constantly badgered him to speed up the process. In anger, he almost slammed his fist against the clunky piece of machinery before stopping himself midway through the punch. He could only guess that the irrational fury was coming from his impatient teenage body. After recapturing a normal breathing pattern, a look of concentration settled on his face. He tried to recalibrate the device so that it went through another batch of possible passwords.

From outside, there was shouting in what he was certain was Kineceleran language, telling him to surrender.

The large metal doors behind him caved in. Once. Twice.

Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, while the energetic beeping sound told him that a password match was found. Carefully punching the codes into the machine, he was welcomed by the doors sliding open in welcome.

Unable to help himself, Albedo laughed rambunctiously in victory.

One step into the low level technology mechanism and he was one step closer to killing Ben Tennyson.

He imperiously went inside and the door closed behind him.

---

Evading the Plumbers was an extremely arduous process, requiring maneuvering tactics that made his body's intestines leap into directions it was not supposed to. A few minutes into it and he could already feel the tasteless prison food tickling the back of his throat.

He would not gratify his filthy human body the satisfaction of seeing him undignified, so he steeled his stomach until he could shoot the annoying pursuers into nonexistence. At least, for the time being. He was certain they would send reinforcements once the others had not returned to their headquarters with his poor excuse for a body in tow.

In the meantime, however...

Smirking deviously, he pressed the button after the targetting system locked on to the enemy ship and fired two missiles. Lasers required a bit more concentration than he really wanted to dedicate, considering the labyrinthine numbers of space rocks would not allow him to place the machine on autopilot. Speeding past the scattered celestial bodies, he pivoted to watch the missiles come in contact with their target.

The explosion that followed was unbelievably rewarding.

Returning his attention towards the console, he typed the coordinates to Galvan Prime. After all, he still needed to retrieve certain raw materials that only his infintely superior planet could provide.

Being inconspicuous took some talent, his stature being a prominent signal that he was currently not a Galvan. His first port of call was purchasing an ID mask from a trader of questionable nature. Having to sink to such pettiness simply added to the pile of reasons why killing Ben Tennyson would be an enjoyable experience.

After such dealings, he was able to get past through the planet generally unnoticed and was trusted with more confidential information to access higher levels of technology on the planet. He had to be particularly careful as some would have the technology to see through the disguise. Thankfully, his dealings had not made him come across that certain group.

The blueprints of the Omnitrix was still in the old database of his laboratory. Since he had already created one previously, it was far easier to recreate than when he had simply started. Of course, part of the confusion could be chalked up to his anger at Azmuth for having decomissioned him from the process of creating the Omnitrix that the Ben Tennyson possessed. Anger easily clouded more important processes of thinking and obstructed him from a quicker progress.

Fiddling with the Omnitrix again to check for any signs of malfunction, a sharp exhale of confidence indicated that the user was content with its efficiency.

The irritating part was that the genetic information from Ben Tennyson remained incomplete, containing him within the damaged version that stared back at him from the reflection. It seemed as though enough of the information allowed the Omnitrix to accept him as its owner that it no longer registered the impairment.

Red eyes sharpening, he replaced the ID mask until the image of a teenage boy with white hair disappeared. In its place, a normal Galvan stood. This Galvan scampered outside, and left the laboratory as empty as it was the day it was left behind.

---

Earth was as revolting as he remembered. The smells of pollution, grime and body odor barged assaultingly into his nose.

It should not have been first on his agenda, since Ben Tennyson was still alive somewhere on the planet. The rumble of his stomach told him otherwise. Nonetheless, the welcome sight of the building in front of him was enough to make up for the barrage on his sensations.

Finally he could silence the irritating bleating of his body's cravings by purchasing that putrid miasma referred to as _chilli fries._


	2. The Unnamed Feeling

**Author's notes**: Henceforth I christen thee, BenLieAl, my ultimate OT3. Although I've been thinking of calling Albedo/Julie as Allie. ROFL!

Is it me or does Ben have a type? Black-haired girls. (i.e. Kai, Elena and Julie). Must be in the genetic information. : D (Mind you I didn't like both Elena and Kai. Kai was just downright harsh to Ben, while Elena from the live action Alien Swarm was discriminatory towards Gwen and Kevin. Not cool.)

Oh, this chapter is where the preview from my picture becomes, well, useless.

_Cute in Purple: _Julie with Cash? Hmm… I haven't actually read that yet. Only Gwen/Cash. I'm actually curious now that you pointed it out. Yes, I kind of love crack pairings. XP

---

Chapter 2: The Unnamed Feeling

Ben sucked contemplatively on a chocolate, coconut and Wasabi smoothie, both legs raised on top of the center table. His gaze was transfixed on the TV screen almost hypnotically. The show was some type of medical drama that occasionally spouted nonsense that Ben's brain simply fielded through in their incomprehensibility. Most times, it was the intricate love stories among the different medical personnel.

He told himself he was only waiting for the advertisement that showed up during this timeslot. Apparently, there was a new Sumo Slammers movie. It was the sequel from the previous movie that he had showed up far too early for in his excitement. This frustrated Kevin to no end, for Ben had decided to drag the older boy with him to the premiere. After all, he was his only friend who already owned a car.

_Kevin was far too much muscle_, Ben thought, _that he even had a muscle car_. He wished he could snort in laughter but he was busy with some other emotion.

Every now and again he would sniffle loudly when the doctor dying of cancer finally exchanged vows with her true love, another doctor. Several seasons previous had her stumbling into different relationships that weren't with him. Now they were happily married.

Plucking a tissue from the box, he dwelled more on the new smoothie concoction he requested. He blew his nose into the tissue. The spiciness of the Wasabi was actually a wonderful combination with the chocolate. It was a weird new flavor that raised both of the delicate eyebrows his girlfriend owned. She was only accustomed to Wasabi in sushi, where they apparently should have stayed. The cringe on her face told him what she thought of his new smoothie mixture when they had purchased it for the first time. Currently, the smoothie in his hand was his tenth chocolate, coconut and Wasabi drink.

Speaking of which, he felt as though he was forgetting something.

He drained the last few drops of the smoothie in his hand. Shaking the container as if to confirm that it was actually empty, he opened the lid to tip the drops that remained stubbornly inside.

He licked his lips. He was sure he was forgetting something. Something very important.

The Sumo Slammers trailer flickered in view and his mind was filled with girlish squealing to remember exactly what he was overlooking.

---

Drumming her fingers rhythmically on the table, she stared at the other patrons present in the shop. They were always in groups or pairs - may it be teenagers or parent and child. All of them engaged in animated conversation from one menial topic to the other. The pair just to her left was specifically painful to watch. Fingers intertwined on the side of the table as they laughed at some ridiculous adventure that would have been exciting for other normal couples.

Although she couldn't really count herself as a couple at the moment.

Julie told herself that she really loved her boyfriend. _Really_ loved him.

Catching another glimpse of the clock at the corner of the store, she placed her chin on top of her small hand. She sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Or in this case, night.

Perhaps he'd simply forgotten to tell her that he had rushed off to save the world from another alien threat. When those situations arose, it was difficult to keep track of time or to even conjure the idea of pulling out a cellphone when your hands were occupied with thumping said threat into unconsciousness.

She simply hoped that no one would notice that she was practically loitering around the shop without buying anything. Ben was far more enthusiastic with smoothies than she was, after all. The entire purpose of being in Mr. Smoothy was to have quality time with him. Sucking on the beverage was only second priority.

At the moment, her first priority was missing.

She sighed again.

---

An explosive belch was released from a red clad figure, quickly followed by grumbles of being sickened with himself. The stench of his own breath wafting in the direction of his nose made the boy cringe in aversion.

The hand that held the empty box of chilli fries deposited the trash into a nearby garbage can. He simply needed to find water where he could wash the sticky, oily grime from his fingers. Upon spotting a nearby fountain he soaked his hands into the refreshing water while he contemplated on his next course of action.

Finally over _that_ particular hurdle, he felt his entire persona for the presence of the ID mask.

It was supposed to be with him. Somewhere.

Eventually conceding to the pronounced absence of his ID mask, he sharply sucked in air as though he had a grudge against it. Staring resentfully at the heavens, he loudly cursed Ben Tennyson's DNA and faulty memory in all the languages the human tongue was capable of twisting to.

---

Suspiciously observing the expiration date on the side of the carton, Sandra inspected the milk for signs of spoiling. The milk flowed liberally into the cup she held in her other hand. There was no evidence of curdling or any sour smells irradiating from the liquid. Shrugging, she placed the cup to her lips.

Without any noise, Ben stepped into the kitchen in a meditative trance. The surprise of seeing her son when he'd just told her earlier that day that he was going somewhere else made Sandra spit the milk all over the kitchen tiles.

Some milk splattered on Ben while he was rifling through the refrigerator for something to munch on.

Wiping the drops off his face, he complained, "Mom! What was that for?" All the while, he was shaking the drained smoothie cup that remained in his left hand.

"I thought you were out," she replied sheepishly, pulling a flower embroidered handkerchief from her pocket to wipe off the rest of the milk from her son's face, much to his embarrassment. "Then you just appeared out of nowhere like a ghost."

The look of intense concentration returned to his face as he thought about what his mother had just said.

"Ben?" she asked in concern, placing a hand on her hip. She stared at the darkening green of his eyes while he stared at the floor. "Are you okay, dear?"

Again, without warning, Ben had another outburst. This time, he flailed his hands in panicked realization as he shouted, "Julie!" The Mr. Smoothy cup flew and bounced off the ceiling.

---

There was a young man in a red jacket walking resolutely towards the Mr. Smoothy establishment. Julie was unsure about who it was until he was close enough to peer around the building. The deathly serious expression on his face was so inappropriate on him.

Picking up her hand bag, she was on her feet to greet Ben.

So she was right, there really must have been something happening. This something involved his usual green jacket being replaced by red and his usual light brown hair being replaced with silver white. _Must have been an accident with paints or hair dye_, she thought to herself, giggling.

Standing right in front of him, she was confused by the way he was gazing down at her through his nose. He was radiating with an aura of superiority that was making her reconsider what she was about to do.

But her boyfriend was weird. The entire point of why he was so special. Once when she had visited his house, she found him balancing Sumo Slammer action figures on his nose with the concentration of someone fixing the fabric of the Universe. She was certain he was just simply having another weird moment.

She kissed his nose.

The white-haired Ben almost stumbled backwards in surprise. Though the way he snapped his head back made her fear he was going to detach his own head from his neck. The flush of his cheeks was so evident she didn't need to be at the proximity she was in to see.

"Ben," she greeted, stretching a hand towards his hair. "What happened to your hair?"

Completely dumbfounded by the events, the condescending, snide remarks that had previously coagulated in Albedo's head stopped in his throat. He nearly choked on them.

Instead when his composure returned and his mind raced less that the words no longer collided bewilderingly, his mouth only managed to say, "And who might you be?"

"Get away from her!" a familiar voice shouted, followed by the sounds of rubber shoes stomping on the pavement that was coming closer and closer.

Pivoting quickly at the direction of the voice, her eyes widened at the image of Ben clothed in his green coat and threateningly hovering his right hand over the Omnitrix. The thoughts in her head careened to a stop while she digested this information.

As though to confirm her conclusion, she returned her gaze to the boy she was standing close to. The pale face in front of her contorted into pure fury as he stared into the distance, behind her head, right at the other Ben.

"Ben Tennyson," he hissed confrontationally, his body shifting into a defensive pose.

_What in the world was going on?_ Julie's mind contemplated, before bright flashes of green light interrupted it.

**---**

In the Plumber prison that he had been jailed, the boredom allowed his mind to consider different plans to take his revenge on Ben Tennyson. The convoluted plans were eventually condensed into a more simplistic mantra that repeated in his head whenever another stick of prison food rolled on the floor towards him. It made his incarceration a little more bearable.

Albedo was already looping this mantra in his mind, while he ran off to the front of his enemy. Ben Tennyson himself rushed to the side of the girl that had approached Albedo.

He liked to refer to it as a checklist.

-

_Checklist: _

_Kill Ben Tennyson _

_Take Omnitrix._

-

"What was that again? Two birds with one stone?" Albedo murmured contemplatively, half to himself as he unceremoniously transformed to Big Chill. "Honestly, what is with this human inclination to create gaggles of nonsensical phrases?"

"Swampfire!" Ben shouted after slamming his hand on the Omnitrix. The nasal voice took over, retorting humorously, " Being human isn't so bad. You like smoothies, too, yeah?"

"No," the Galvan turned Ben clone gritted in frustration, blowing ice over the original Ben's direction. The tone was dripping with disgust and exasperation as he snapped, "You do!"

Grabbing the baffled Julie by the waist, Swampfire jumped out of the way of the blast. Unfortunately, the general direction where they used to be was the Mr. Smoothy building, which was immediately encased in ice. The customers previously in the establishment had stumbled to run outside upon seeing monsters fighting in a rather close vicinity. Luckily, there was no one else frozen other than the building and the Mr. Smoothy mascot.

Ben didn't take well to the idea that his favorite smoothie place was currently a big icicle.

"Oh, man!" Swampfire whined, observing the store dejectedly. Shooting fire at Big Chill gave Ben a rather crazy idea that immediately perked him up. "Wait." He stared at his hands distractedly. "With enough time and effort. Could work."

Blowing ice against the fire had only worked for a few moments. Because of Albedo's more inferior Omnitrix, he was comparatively less powerful than the owner of the real one. He flew against another building when Swampfire's attack overpowered him, parts of his body flickering with a few flames. Snuffing them out with a couple of puffs of cold air, he glared daggers at Swampfire.

"Ben!" Julie's panicked voice snapped Ben out of his reverie, which was quickly succeeded by Big Chill's foot connecting to his face.

Swampfire roughly slid across the pavement until he reached a wall to stop his momentum - by crashing soundly against it.

Some part of Julie told her that having Ship at the moment would have been wonderful if he hadn't ran off to follow another truck. Unfortunately, she was there and only human. Nonetheless, seeing Ben being thrown around by another Ben was not something she could tolerate much longer.

"I don't know what's going on here but you have to stop it!" she screamed with more determination than her shaking knees could display, spreading her arms to block Big Chill as he approached. She watched Swampfire shake his head of the ice and debris from the Mr. Smoothy building before turning her attention back to Big Chill. "I won't let you hurt him."

Much to Julie's elation, Big Chill seemed to hesitate. The arm that was extended to attack them was shaking visibly in uncertainty.

Albedo was_ furious_. Not necessarily at the girl who was standing in front of him, impeding him from his well-deserved victory. Strangely enough, he couldn't conjure the ability to hate her as much as he currently hated Ben Tennyson. In fact, he was mostly furious at the fact that his body was refusing to budge; furious at the stupid human heart beating at a faster rate than should be considered normal; furious at Ben Tennyson because she was taking _his_ side.


	3. The Scent of Jasmine

**Author's Notes:** I use the incredibly amusing Alien Force season 3 version of Ben. He's just way more fun to write than the Ben from previous seasons (except that one time where he was a bumbling idiot making horrible excuses during his date with Julie. Adorable 3). So expect all the quirks of Season 3 Ben. Although the previous chapter already did show that so I guess no warning needed, eh?

The battle continues! Who would win the Ben vs. Albedo fight this time around?

_Warning:_ A very extensive and graphic fight scene is featured in this chapter. But, hey, isn't that part of the reason why we watch this show?

Because I study Biomedical science, I placed some bit of genetics into the story (author appeal). It gives it some level of legitimacy. Though this explanation might not necessarily be applicable in universe. ;P

_Kisdota:_ To be honest, I would like for other people to write something like this as well. I'd love to see more of my OT3. :D

---

Chapter 3: The Scent of Jasmine

"Humongousaur!" Ben shouted determinedly, rising to a stand from behind Julie and flexing his arms as the transformation completed. Reaching his large arm to the front of Julie, he grabbed the stunned Big Chill into his hand and squeezed.

The blue creature hissed in pain as he struggled vainly inside the clenched fist.

"What are you doing here? Back for more beatings?" Ben taunted in Humongousaur's deep voice, the line quickly backed up by a raised fist. "Thought you'd never ask."

The movement was restricted but enough shifting and thrashing allowed the Necrofriggian to reach his hand to his chest. A flash of green light halted Humongousaur's punch midway.

The bright light in Ben's eyes made him flinch distinctly enough to loosen his hold so that the smaller figure of Echo Echo was released from his hold.

"I highly doubt you would be the one implementing the beatings," the technological tone retorted in turn, multiplying as Echo Echo created clones that surrounded Humongousaur and the slight girl looking on in confusion at the exchange. The Sonorosian projected a soundwave so shrill that anyone within a close radius needed to plug their ears to keep their ear drums from shattering.

Humongousaur, far too engaged in the activity of squeezing his hands around the vicinity of his ears, only grasped too late that the Sonorosian had multiplied again. All of which have charged to his location to tackle him to the ground.

Toppling over at the sheer number of Sonorosians, the movement of his limbs became restricted and one particular Echo Echo was reaching its short arm towards the center of his chest.

"Ben!" Julie's voice reverberated in the raucous noise of the struggle, catching a glimpse of her trying to haul away at least one Echo Echo from his legs. She looked as though she was about to succeed but was simply pushed off by the other Sonorosians on his feet. Bouncing roughly on her back, she moaned a little at the pain.

The possibility of the Sonorosians attacking Julie returned the strength to Humongousaur's form that he practically jumped to a stand. A few Sonorosians had been shaken off, tumbling a certain distance on the cement.

"Julie, are you okay?" he shouted in the din of Sonorosians falling to the ground and their pattering feet attempting to return to tackling him. Punching the one that jumped into the air to seize his face, he stared around the area to find where Julie had gone in the commotion.

She was wrenching an almost completely broken off pipe that was attached to the structure Big Chill had previously slammed into.

"Yeah!" she responded enthusiastically, grinning to console her boyfriend. "I just need something to swing." The pipe gave way. Running closer to the battle, she held the metal tube as though she was about to swipe a ball with her tennis racket. One Echo Echo attempting to return into the pile attacking Humongousaur was swiftly smacked upside the head with the metal cylinder and went back down face first onto the road.

Humongousaur nearly laughed in amusement, slamming another Echo Echo with his fist. _That's _my _girl._

Suddenly, the Omnitrix made a beeping sound.

"Uh oh," Humongousaur attempted to squeak in the rumbling deep voice he possessed. Looking down at his chest, a flash of green light covered his entire form and shrunk him to the size of a teenage boy. This teenager was staring with owlish green eyes at the general direction of the Sonorosians that were jumping back into the original Echo Echo. The same eyes twitched spastically to suggest that he was ready for the upcoming thrashing.

Albedo himself returned to his human form, his Omnitrix's symbol flaring in the color of his eyes. He glowered down Ben although they were the same height.

"Beforehand, I had warned you that I did not require the assistance of the Omnitrix to disarm you," Albedo iterated darkly, clenching both fists in an anticipation of _mano a mano_. "The warning still stands. Yield or else."

"Don't worry about that," a feminine voice declared from beside him. Albedo observed the previously worried Ben Tennyson display a beaming grin. "Omnitrix or no." He tilted his head towards the voice, red eyes focusing on the girl who was on the way to hacking at him with her metal weapon. She yelled in tune with her hands slashing, "He's got me!"

With lightning reflexes, he grabbed the metal pole as it came within a hair's breadth of his nose. Twisting his arm so he displaced hers, the sound of her pained cry almost stopped him from the defence. Except the motions were instinctive and went on until he removed the cylinder from her hand, slid his leg sideways down the cement to elbow her in the abdomen and get her out of the way.

After the strike, the sharp gasp that escaped her lips removed all the breath from her. Unconscious, Julie tumbled down the sidewalk.

"No!" Ben barked angrily, dashing to his white haired copy in pure anger. This emotion shielded his eyes from the minute changes in Albedo's countenance, such as the lowering of his guard and the equally pained expression on his face as he observed the girl's crumpled form.

Albedo absolutely abhorred his body. The girl was a complete stranger, one whose name was currently escaping him. Yet here he was, inclined to feel guilty of some unknown charge and practically shuffling his feet in embarrassment at his self-defence.

He felt his jaw almost dislocate. Blood splattered at the force of the punch, displacing Albedo from where he stood. He staggered a few steps before he turned to his attacker, who was sending another fist speeding in the area of his face.

This time, he sharpened his eyes and raised an arm to block the blow while attempting to be extremely careful to prevent the Omnitrix on his left wrist to come within a close perimeter of Ben's own. He did not desire another meeting with Azmuth until he was the possessor of Azmuth's - no, his creation.

Delivering a strong kick to Ben Tennyson's side, Albedo's red eyes lit up in enjoyment as his opponent grunted at the hit. During the time the boy was distracted with the ache on his torso, Albedo shot a series of punches which Ben surprisingly evaded a few. After being hit by one under his chin, however, he received the next batch of punches in full.

When Ben raised his left hand to react to the attacks, Albedo had to hurriedly withdraw his left arm and made himself open. Unexpectedly, Ben gripped Albedo's cuff with his left hand while his right snatched the stunned white haired copy's right bicep and then head butted him.

Vision spinning wildly, Albedo attempted to focus at the suddenly numerous Ben Tennysons.

"Yow," three Ben Tennysons groaned, as they all clutched their heads. They returned their attention to Albedo. The impact of the head butt must have made him forget he was angry as Ben curiously asked, "Hey, is that your brain leaking?"

Tracing slightly trembling fingers over his forehead, Albedo felt warm liquid trickle on to his hand. A tendril of white hair soaked in blood flicked towards his view. The drop dangling at the tip of the hair travelled downwards. Before the blood even hit the cement, Ben's white haired version clenched both fists at his side and screamed skyward until his throat was raw.

"Dude," Ben commented in a placating manner, raising both his hands. "Calm down, geez. You're gonna pop a vein."

"You incorrigible, impudent, repugnant, infuriating bag of flesh and sweat and hair!" Albedo screamed in incredible speed that the sentence almost blended into one big word. "So ludicrously, indefinably obtuse you have affected my superior intellect!"

"Hey!" Ben reacted half-heartedly, feeling the need to respond even if he couldn't quite understand the rant. He was just certain that it had something to do with him and was possibly insulting.

"Relinquish the Omnitrix to me or I shall mangle your person until I can ascertain you are no more than a horrible dream," the red clad replica threatened, stretching a hand demandingly at Ben.

"I don't think so," Ben retorted, holding the arm that contained the Omnitrix closer to his chest. The sight of an altered green Dodge Challenger with black racing stripes that was pulling up the curb only strengthened his resolve.

"Besides," the brunette added proudly, directing Albedo's attention to the green car. He placed a hand confidently on his hip. "You're not in condition to fight three."

A black haired head peeked out of the opened car door; the expression on the figure's face was almost that of manic excitement. The redhead beside him was also on her way to opening her side of the door.

"You need help, Tennyson?" the dark-haired older boy queried teasingly, upon stepping outside of his vehicle and removing the ID mask.

The nervousness that was coiling and clenching at Albedo's stomach dissipated when the Omnitrix in his wrist turned green.

Ben's response time was a little bit slower so that when he became aware of his copy turning the dial on his Omnitrix, he panicked to turn his own.

Light flashed once more and a Polymorph appeared. Using her manna, Gwen attempted to capture Goop but the anti-gravity disc simply removed itself from the top of the Polymorph and made the extremely liquid creature impossible to restrain.

After forming a mace on his hand, Kevin rushed to slam his fist on the anti-gravity disc but was evaded by its fast movement. The disc inserted into a drainage on the side of the road. The fluid Polymorph flowed into the same hole soon after.

For a minute or two, Ben constantly flicked through possible aliens on the Omnitrix and hadn't noticed the pointed stares his cousin and friend were giving him.

"Ben!" Gwen finally snapped, crossing her arms across her chest. Her foot tapped in impatience as she stated, "He's gone."

"Oh," Ben replied, flushing in humiliation. Glancing around the immediate area, he remembered that Julie had been injured. "Where's Julie? She fell down before and I think she fainted." His eyes narrowed. "He _hurt_ her."

The word 'hurt' was given so much emphasis that Gwen translated it in her cousin's vocabulary as an unforgivable act.

"Found her," the older boy's voice rang out, from a distance where he sat kneeling in front of a dark-haired girl who was struggling to a seating position. Kevin was already wearing the ID mask.

The Tennyson cousins ran off to the other side of the street to check upon the girl.

She appeared lost as she peered across the street in wonder, her dark eyes moving from side to side as she searched for something.

"Where's the other Ben?" she asked innocently, staring wide-eyed at the three people hovering over her. "Did I miss something?"

The real Ben's green eyes mellowed at the sight of her ruffled hair and alert expression. In an unconscious display of affection, he wrapped his arms around her until he could dig his face into her hair. All that remained in his thoughts were the vague scent of jasmine.

---

"Hey, when you plan on getting all mushy again can you warn me?" Kevin taunted his brown haired passenger, the one who slapped his forehead in embarrassment and groaned loudly as the act was reminded. "I plan to do a runner before I get diabetes."

Julie randomly decided to stare at the ceiling of the car as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"How did Albedo get out of prison anyway?" Gwen spoke firmly, changing the topic to something more important. "I thought Azmuth had him locked up after the last incident."

"Well, he escaped somehow and now he's on the lose," Ben declared gravely, crossing his arms in front of him. "I wonder why Azmuth hadn't said anything."

"Actually…" Kevin intruded, raising an index finger while using only one hand to turn the steering wheel.

"Please don't tell me you haven't said anything and you _did_ receive a message," Gwen groaned irritably, glaring at the black-haired young man.

"Not from Azmuth," the driver clarified, pressing his foot on the break and shifting the gears to park. "There was an abandoned burned down alien tech, a Plumber ship, in the area. I just caught wind of the news, what with my connections." He sounded proud of himself for this personal aspect.

"Morally questionable connections," the redhead muttered under her breath to add to her boyfriend's sentence, opening the door to step outside.

"Hey," the older boy cried defensively, leaning an elbow on the top of the vehicle to peer closer at the girl on the opposite side. "They're very reliable if you give them the right amount of dough." When Ben made a move to copy his position, Kevin snapped at him, "Watch the paint."

Gwen rolled her eyes, smiling fondly and sighing as though she had just given up on trying.

"I'm sorry," a meek voice sneaked into the conversation, her head tilting. "I'm a little lost. So, you already saw that guy before?"

The trio stared at each other, then returned their gaze on the small Asian girl with a very curious expression.

Gwen stared at her brown-haired cousin purposefully, while he blinked at her owlishly.

"You didn't tell her about this?" Gwen asked in astonishment, raising a thin eyebrow at the dawning realization on her cousin's face. "I thought you'd be thrilled to tell that particular story."

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Ben piped excitedly, not unlike the sounds made by Spidermonkey, grabbing his girlfriend's shoulders in a child-like level of keenness. "I haven't told you about the other thing that proves that I'm a real hero other than saving the -"

"The whole entire universe," Gwen and Kevin chorused flatly, before the girl rolled her eyes and the boy groaned in exasperation.

"That," the savior of the universe confirmed, flashing a wide-mouthed, toothy grin that Julie feared would accidentally cut off the other half of his head. "You wanna hear?"

The mirth in her eyes turned them into little crescents as she held in her laughter, Julie deciding to humor her boyfriend with a, "Yes?"

"I have an evil twin!" he announced with great vigor, green eyes twinkling. In the background, Kevin mumbled derisively that he was the one who said that.

"I sort of guessed that already," Julie amended on his statement, expectant of the rest of the story.

"But he also used to be a Galvan. You know, like a Gray Matter, which are only this tall," Ben explained, gesturing with his hands a distance he assumed was approximately five inches. When Julie's eyebrows knitted, he tried to remind her of something she'd already seen. "You remember Azmuth?"

"Oh, yeah," Julie verified, nodding her head. "When we were fighting the Highbreed." After this piece of data was processed, she asked when she remained perplexed, "How come he looks like you then? I mean, sort of. Not the same hair and eye color. But your faces are exactly the same."

"Because he copied the Omnitrix and I'm the default," Ben stated as if it was the dumbest course of action to take. "Last time we met, the two Omnitrixes -" Julie was sure he just invented a word - "went wacko so it affected the information and ruined my good looks on him."

A retching sound came from the background which Ben rightfully assumed was Kevin. Annoyingly enough, even Gwen was finding this amusing enough to chuckle at.

"Hey, he said so himself!" Ben defended loudly, pouting at the boy leaning on the jambs of the opening to the garage.

"I don't think that's what he meant," Kevin snorted mockingly, raising one of his eyebrows. "Azmuth imprisoned him in your body for a reason, you know."

"Ben," a voice reverberated into the room, older than any of those present in the room.

"And speakin' of the Devil," Kevin joked and his girlfriend slapped him on the side of his torso for the trouble.

A projected image that flickered every now and again appeared unassumingly on the floor, the figure had his hands clasped behind his back.

"Albedo has escaped," Azmuth affirmed grimly, looking Ben in the eye as he said so.

"Tell us something we don't know," Kevin retorted, having another replay of the slap.

"He meant," Gwen reworded diplomatically, glaring at her boyfriend. "that we've already met him."

"Ah," the elderly Galvan sighed, taking a few steps in contemplation. "I've only been informed of his escape very recently. The Plumber reinforcements have been sent. They will scour the Earth for him."

"He has a new Omnitrix," Ben added in alarm, his eyes narrowing. "I saw you take it from him, too. So where did this new one come from?"

"It is probably more recently created," Azmuth considered, worry settling on his face as he deduced the reason why. "I will contact the other Plumber reinforcements to set foot on Galvan Prime to investigate."

"But how come he can still use the Omnitrix in the first place?" Ben asked as he remembered their much older fight. "He said that when we were connected through the Omnitrix, it damaged it somehow. We don't look exactly the same anymore but he can still use the Omnitrix."

Waving a hand dismissively, Azmuth responded, "The only damage that his body had received was that the RNA polymerase has been stopped from the process of transcription due to some physical formations on the DNA preventing it from moving forward. Melanin would not be translated when this information is not provided. Since the Omnitrix simply reads the sequence of nucleotides from the DNA, which contains exactly the same instructions as yours, the Omnitrix accepts him as you."

Both the brunette and the black-haired young men looked incredibly lost in the explanation.

"The bio-energy feedback caused these blockades and since Albedo was not really Ben, or even a human to begin with, his body did not have the proofreading mechanism that Ben would have to smooth these things out. Since these editing mechanisms immediately detect the problems and fix them, Ben has not changed," Azmuth tried harder, observing the continuously blank expressions on the boys's faces.

"Ah." Julie raised her hand to redirect her boyfriend's attention from gawking cluelessly at Azmuth to gawking cluelessly at her. "He meant that you still have the same DNA. The color's not important."

"Couldn't you have just said that?" Ben cried in frustration, practically pulling his hair out as he dug his fingers into his hair. "It was longer but it made less sense!"

"Because what she said is slightly incorrect," Azmuth grumbled into the floor, equally aggravated about their one way communication. "Also, that was the easiest explanation I could think of."

Julie simply stuck her tongue out cutely, her eyes closed in apology at the scene.

"Contact me if you encounter him again," Azmuth instructed, directly telling Ben. "I shall leave now to speak with the Plumbers." The image fizzled and disappeared.

"Murphy's Law," Gwen uttered simply, acting like this was a predictable thing to say.

"What?" Kevin attempted to garner a more extended version.

"The worst thing that can happen will happen and he jinxed us by saying it," Gwen repeated the law, smiling jadedly at the taller boy.

"Hey, cool, they call it something," Kevin perked in amusement at the idea. "I thought it was just called 'life'."

"How long have you been in that cave, Kev?" Ben added smartly, sticking his tongue out at the older boy. Said older boy picked up a nearby spanner as a threat so the tongue quickly returned into the mouth.

"On a more serious note," Ben started, turning to Julie, "why wasn't Ship with you?"

"He's my pet, Ben," Julie laughed light-heartedly in her tinkling voice, "not my slave. Sometimes he's just left at my place when I go out." Her shoulders nudged upwards flippantly. "And he ran after a truck earlier this morning."

"Albedo attacked you," Ben continued, not the least bit amused by the situation. "He could have done worse."

"Yes, but I did do my best to fight back," she reasoned, her voice slightly wavering at his tone. It was far more confrontational than she'd rather hear.

"Next time," he added sharply, not paying much attention to her defence. "If Ship isn't there, would you just get out of the way?" It shouldn't have come out as harsh as it did. Nevertheless, the words were out.

The small girl flinched at the admonishment. _It didn't matter at all that she tried to save him, that she fought in spite of the fact that she was a puny human who couldn't transform into ten different aliens. What mattered was that she was a _burden.

Eyes stinging at his chastise, she gazed at the floor to avoid anyone discerning the glitter of liquid tickling her eyelids.

"I'll go then," she said finally, pivoting with her head held down.

Gwen was incredulous, staring at her cousin as if she was expecting him to retract the insensitive comment.

He didn't budge.

"I'm way past my curfew anyway," Julie's usually sweet voice grated out coldly, stepping outside without looking back.

As she walked away from him, Ben could have sworn there was still the lingering faint aroma of jasmine on his nose.

The brunette plopped on a nearby chair to skulk.

"Smart move, Tennyson," Kevin remarked humorously, the chuckle in his tone interlacing into the words.

"Kevin!" the redhaired girl reprimanded, making hacking signs across her throat.

"What?" he asked lightheartedly, shrugging his broad shoulders, "just making fun."

Gwen nudged her head to the outside, sporting a pleading look on her face.

Sighing exaggeratedly, Kevin detached his back from the garage door jamb. He snorted derisively, "Fine," and left the garage.

When she was certain that her boyfriend was out of sight, she pivoted abruptly towards Ben with her knuckles digging into her hips.

"Apologize to her," she ordered sternly, glowering at her cousin.

"What?" he reacted defensively, his green eyes staring at her with well-honed stubbornness. "I was just telling her how it is."

"Yeah, in the words of a jerk," Gwen rejoined in a high-pitched tone, raising her arms in disbelief.

"She'll get over it," he said solemnly, attempting to convince himself. "It's fine. She'll come back and talk to me and we'll be okay again."

Gwen wanted to shriek in irritation or slap some sense into her currently too proud cousin. Instead, the feeling of her heart sinking for him and his situation took precedent. So she frowned and shook her head.

"I thought you were the more mature one between you and Kevin," she sighed pitifully, turning around to walk away. As she looked back, he was still staring obstinately at his shoes. "I guess I was wrong."

---

**Author's Notes**: Oh, yeah. Did I mention _all _of the quirks of Season 3 Ben? Review, please!


	4. The Aftermath

**Author's Notes: **Cloudcukoolander!Ben is more fun to write than Jerk!Ben. Jerkiness is something Kevin was created for and comes easily to me. Jerk!Ben requires a lot of thinking and makes my scrawny brain hurt. XD And do you know how hard it is to make a fight between Julie and Ben? Julie is just way too agreeable. Benlie is like my other NaruHina. It's filled with fluffy goodness that I squeal over but all I ever want is to see it in well-written angst. XP

Did anyone miss Albedo and his constant slurs on Ben? *silence* Well, _I _did. A picture of Albedo in this chapter in Deviantart: http:

// kapaychan . deviantart . com/art/The-Aftermath-152385020. Oh yeah, major gratuitous fan service. ;P

Oh, and this chapter contains Anatomy material. You don't need to understand it, it's just a geek bonus.

This was one of the most difficult chapters to write, but that's just a testament to my inability to write (excuse the redundancy).

---

Chapter 4: The Aftermath

Galvans were not made for physical confrontation. Diminutive in size and with a body type designed for escape, their intellect became well-developed until it became the weapon they yielded against a potential enemy. Upon acquiring a human body, so completely against his will that he had metaphorically kicked and screamed through the ordeal of possessing the form, Albedo learned physicality.

Regretting putting on the Omnitrix was a foolish concept, for Albedo truly believed to the very depths of his despised human bones that he was the rightful owner of the device. Instead of longing to remove the Omnitrix, he decided to seek out the default of the Omnitrix in order to change it. The new default would be more competent, intelligent and, more importantly, would _not_ crave chilli fries.

Hissing sharply at the stinging sensation on his forehead, he continued applying the alcohol generously over the wound. After learning a form of fighting technique for the first time, he reminisced that the pain he experienced then was similar to the one he was currently having.

The throbbing, burning sensations were centered around the biceps and serratus anterior of both sides of his torso. Even his back stung, which must have been the trapezius muscle or maybe latissimus dorsi complaining for the overuse. Angry welts were scattered liberally over the torn muscles, burning red over his pale skin. Tracing the muscles nimbly, he considered going outside to retrieve ice to at least numb the pain. He decided against it, after he took a breath deep enough for his ribs to squeeze his lungs. Movement was too difficult to get far. He had been unable to fix any injuries acquired as a Sonorosian.

The metal surface in front of him reflected the bruise forming on the side of his mouth. With a quivering finger, he dabbed at the currently yellow mark shaped like knuckles that would eventually turn black and blue. Flinching away, the tender flesh alerted his neurons of the damage it had received.

He arranged a meeting to purchase a photonic displacement mask with a dealer tomorrow. He had been engaging in such demeaning behavior ever since he had released himself from incarceration. Unfortunately, he did not desire for the Plumbers to detect his evidences so he resorted to these transactions instead of more legal ones. This time, he was attempting to send a personal message to one person, who he was certain would pick up the trace.

Unlike most fools, he did not commit the same mistake. Realizing that attacking the horde of enemies that Ben Tennyson had collected in the time he owned the Omnitrix would only alert the Plumbers of his location, he considered another tactic.

Slowly rising from his seat, he directed himself towards the computer console he had collected from his laboratory in Galvan Prime. He was certain he could locate information on the owner of the Omnitrix and other details surrounding him. Earth technology was so primitive that it did not take much to hack into the Omnitrix bearer's education system's files. The security levels were _pitiful_.

While collecting the information he could use to enact vengeance on Ben Tennyson, he honed in on another record within the boy's class. Black hair framed both sides of a beaming face, the dark eyes sparkling with life staring back at him. He was certain that the picture on the monitor was that of the girl from his previous confrontation against Ben ten.

She was important somehow. Judging by his body's previous actions around her, the Omnitrix owner would be inclined to come to her rescue. If anything should happen.

He began to gather details from the profile.

Closing the computer, he gingerly leaned back against the crate behind him, withdrawing occasionally when a sore muscle was stretched.

---

The meeting location was a certain distance away, one that he was unwilling to walk. A few streets down, he would encounter the dealer with he necessary supplies to achieve his objective. Sneering visibly at the sight of the heavily littered street corner that was his destination, he braved through the dump to wait for the dealer.

Waiting did not take long.

Incredibly certain that he had seen the green vehicle previously, he contemplated leaving before purchasing the materials.

"You know, I'd be really pissed off if you just take off when I got all that equipment in my trunk," the dealer called out, the wooden legs making clicking sounds on the pavement as he approached. "I don't appreciate being dragged to nowhere without getting nothin'."

"As do I," Albedo gritted irritably, stopping short of exiting the street corner. "Unfortunately your wares are untrustworthy seeing that you are," he narrowed his eyes at the dealer, "an associate of Ben ten."

The amalgamation of solids laughed derisively before retorting with infuriating good humor, "You don't use the word 'trust' on dealers, man, that's a given. If it makes you feel any better," Albedo frowned visibly at this, "I'll tell you that I got my reasons for doing that stuff and it ain't helping Tennyson."

The severe expression on the boy's features were familiar to Albedo, one that he became closely acquainted with and honed to a sharp point in prison.

"So I got that tech you ordered," the mutant continued conversationally, as though the previous comment had not been made. "You still want 'em?"

"I wish to inspect them first," Albedo responded firmly, placing his hands over the pocket that contained his credits.

The dealer opened the trunk of his car to demonstrate the equipment. At first glance, the alien tech seemed of adequate quality. Nonetheless, Albedo removed one of the pieces to inspect for any signs of tampering, carefully turning the piece over in his hand to peer into the internal circuitry for any suspicious additions. Picking through the varying alien tech in this manner, he only placed them back inside when he was satisfied.

"Seriously, man," the dealer snorted impatiently, leaning slightly on the trunk. "There's no tracking device there or a bomb that's gonna blow when I'm gone, okay? Are you getting them?"

"I find that claim unreliable and I am certain you would feel the same in my position," Albedo explained equally impatiently, feeling his lip twitch into a sneer. "Nonetheless, I will buy them."

"The money first," the dealer iterated firmly, nearly closing the door of the trunk over his customer's hand.

For a few moments, a glaring competition occurred between the two figures. The shadows over the street corner engulfed the beings, an oppressively thick atmosphere settled like a low cloud. No one moved, as if even a mere flick of an eyelash was going to set off a violent confrontation.

Pulling out the credits from his pockets, Albedo noticed the dealer's fingers twitch at his side.

"Very well," he hissed crossly, presenting the hand that held the money. It was an Intergalactic currency received by nearly all of the space-faring planets that interacted with one another.

The dealer grabbed the cash from his fingers and before the metal could wrap around and crush his bones, Albedo retracted his hand distastefully.

"Why, thank you," the dealer said in an ingratiatingly amused tone, smirking deviously while the money was counted. When the mutant looked up for a moment, he probably noticed that Albedo had pressed his mouth into a thin line that emphasized the dark mark beside his mouth. Upon returning to his gaze at the currency, he observed flippantly, "You look like crap, man."

Feeling a growl bubble to his throat, Albedo petulantly retrieved the materials with the case that contained them.

"Ben did do a number on you, huh?" the dealer chuckled mockingly, unable to contain himself.

"Not so much that I will be hesitant to use the Omnitrix on my wrist," the white-haired teenager snapped, clutching his fingers so tightly around the handle of the case that the skin had turned a bright red at the pressure.

"No need to get antsy," the dealer shrugged, shoving the credits into his pockets unceremoniously. "Just making conversation." After this comment was made, the mutant opened the door to enter his car.

"If I wanted conversation, I'd discuss with myself," Albedo rejoined smartly, placing the recently purchased photonic displacement mask over his despised face. Red eyes transformed to green. "That is the only way to ensure _intellectual _exchange."

The dealer's response to this comeback was to speed over a puddle littered with enumerable trash, splashing the liquid all over the figure in the red jacket. Albedo realized that not only did he loathe Ben Tennyson but also all of the people in his immediate circle.

---

Ben thought that he was going absolutely batshit insane. Nothing else would explain what was happening to him more accurately.

When he heard a small dog barking outside, he remembered Ship. Flipping through TV channels, he came across a cooking show where the chef was demonstrating how to make a sushi, of all things. Then the next channel was showing an anime dubbed in English. The next channel after that was a finals tennis match. Panicking with the remote, he immediately pressed a random number he hoped would stop bothering him. It was a fairly innocuous gardening show, until it started to demonstrate beautiful cherry blossom trees growing in a row along a street.

Groaning loudly, he suddenly felt inclined to throw the remote at the monitor that was currently awash in pink. He decided against it, lest his parents use his allowance to have it fixed. He needed the money to save up for a car. Clicking the off button, he gingerly placed it down beside him.

Even his Sumo Slammers collection was beginning to drive him nuts.

He had to do something about this. But first, he needed an arsenal of his cellphone, his cousin Gwen and chilli fries. With a lot of onions.

---

It did not go past his notice that people inside the public transportation he had taken were pointedly staring with their hands over their noses, or staying well away from him. _Yes, he was not oblivious to his current state of stench. No, they did not need to wave their hands in the vicinity of their noses to indicate so. _

Grumbling to himself, he stepped to the front to unload at the next stop.

"Kid," the driver of the vehicle called out as he was making his way down the stairs. "You should really take a bath."

Upon placing his feet down the sidewalk, he pivoted sharply to bark, "I do not require your advice, human!"

The door of the bus slammed shut in his face and drove off.

The amble towards the warehouse had been relatively uneventful and quiet, allowing him some time to collect his composure and his contemplations. Removing the incredibly prickly ID mask from his face as soon as he arrived in the abandoned warehouse, the articles of clothing he had followed soon after. There was a source of water in the area which he could possibly use to douse the infernal reek with. Also, probably immerse the sticky, grimy body he was in. He could definitely use it.

After all that was over, he needed to calm the rumble in his stomach demanding those disgusting chilli fries.

While he stalked off in the direction of the nearby water source, the monitor of the console had followed his instruction to activate. The first image that flashed on the screen was a girl whose face was framed by short straight black hair.

---

**Author's Notes: **I like Albedo suffering. It's so funny and sexy… Wait, what did I just say? Ehrm… Crap, I just fitted Albedo for leather pants XD. Albedo acts holier-than-thou, childish and self-centered, completely willing to supersede his return to his normal body over the safety of the universe. I'm really just joking over that Leather Pantsing. Seriously. _Please do not try this at home_. ;P.

Did you know that when red blood cells break down (which will happen in the event of forceful impact like a punch) the components of hemoglobin breaks down to heme and globin? Heme, when broken down, produces bilirubin. This substance is actually yellow (this bilirubin is what colors, uh, _excrement_). So after a punch, the skin is yellow first before it eventually turns black and blue - the common bruise.

I bet at this point, Ben is going to shut me up by saying no one wants to learn anything outside of school. ._.;;

Now I'm getting a bit upset, I haven't seen Julie in the series in forever. Did she just disappear off the planet? :(


	5. Keep your Enemies Closer

**Author's Notes**: This is the descent of the story into much darker territory to explore the mentalities of a _mostly_ reformed Kevin 11. Well, at least a Kevin 11 with high levels of self-control and a large mental chain wrapped around his sociopathic tendencies. Did I tell you how much I love sociopathic Kevin that I was disappointed by his extreme change in Alien Force? (sigh) An explanation would have been nice and I just constructed one.

Lollerskates. Darker and Edgier. (Okay, I have stretched the ratings to its absolute limit that I'm thinking of changing the T to M. Should I? Please warn me in case I'm breaking any rules.)

Warning: Dark Gwevin and dark humor.

---

Chapter 5: Keep Your Enemies Closer

Kevin Ethan Levin had therapy forced on him after his release from the Null Void. There were a lot of casualties - psychologists - involved in the process. There were constant switches and referrals when an unfortunate event happened. This was whenever his restraints became lax enough and the sound of his psychiatrist's voice have already made his mind excited with the prospect of strangling someone.

It was rather often enough that it suggested to Kevin that he was partially masochistic, since all events ended in him being beaten up by the Plumbers and confined even more heavily.

That was the first time he was introduced to different levels of alien tech. They were used on him in varying measures, depending on how much Plumber thrashing he had been enthusiastic enough to implement.

Mind, some of the Plumbers he was familiarized with became associates; 'friends'. From a certain point of view, they classified under friends. Although he didn't necessarily believe in the concept of friendship any more than he believed in justice, mercy and empathy. Not that it was really a matter of belief. Just _comprehension_. Couldn't wrap his mind around the ideas so he just shrugged and left them alone.

Note for reference: Plumbers were just police on a bigger scale, so not all of them were 'clean'.

He became the middle man for them during his probation and dealt different alien tech for a good price.

All the while, the magister sentenced him to be placed under observation of therapists - who made his knuckles itch when those patronizing voices started asking him how he felt - and some scientists. One particular neurologist diagnosed that his sociopathy had little to no influence from his brain structure or genetics. This tidbit happened to be more interesting to Kevin. That diagnosis translated to the world being completely to blame for his issues. Kevin liked to blame others and he just had science as his back up, so good for him.

So really, he was just returning the favor to the world that hated him by lashing out. Perfectly logical.

No one was really proper innocent, after all. Most of those non-innocents were who he met in his dealings. Corrupt Plumbers or simply shady individuals.

Oh, he knew he was being used when they made him the middle man but that was part of the thrill. He pushed as far as he could push until even his Plumber friends's protection eventually gave way.

The magister was going to condemn him back to the hellhole that was the Null Void so he decided to get smart.

Smooth talking and pretending to be innocent and making up elaborate excuses and whatnot. Sneakier, more subversive styles allowed him to survive longer on the outside, so why not?

He also learned to clean up evidence so when he blows up some Plumber friend's ship for ratting him out, the investigation came to a dead end. All in a day's work.

Sure, he ran over a lot of collateral damage - innocent people - every now and again but they happened to be worse than his morally dubious peers. They complained. Loudly. They usually sought the assistance of Plumbers who were so eager to kiss ass on the universe that they acted all goody-goody. Those fools that couldn't be convinced with money or physical pain.

To prevent this, he backtracked on the innocents, over and over if he needed to, so that they stayed run over _permanently_.

Yes, he was getting a tad bored with the entire destruction of innocent lives shindig. Kicking people's faces into the dirt wasn't as fun as it used to be. Not that he was sorry for anything. He was just mellowing out by sheer force of ennui.

Gwen was right enough about him changing.

His plans did do a one-eighty from the simple option of 'hunt down and charge into a punch' tactic he wanted to use on Tennyson. No, he got too smart for that.

Some genius went that you've got to keep friends close, but enemies even closer. Obviously, something would be right about that or the guy wouldn't be a genius.

Now Kevin preferred to think of himself as an explosive kind of guy; he liked things easy, chaotic and had a nice little profit to the side. This was completely unlike his style. Sure he was doing everything the smart way, but the world has got to cut him some slack. He needed to watch his back.

Tennyson really was a hero, cut out from those stupid unbelievable comic books with silver lining all over their tattered pages. Tennyson was just like those, because no matter how many punches or kicks or how much of a freak Kevin became, he could never blot out the little nuisance.

So, yeah. Watching his back to know Tennyson's not picking up on the vibes of his non-niceness had become routine.

Then there was Gwen, who came with the package. He didn't really care about her before and had been all too willing to crush her in his mutated fist to watch Ben Ten break. Now if that came to pass, it would have been a darn shame.

Kevin had grown old enough to notice things that one doesn't when they're just eleven years old and only eager about crashing trains filled with money. So he became aware of how pretty and how smart and how nice and how strong-willed she was. Those things were so tempting that sometimes, he almost believed he was normal. Almost.

There was something so rose-stained in her perception that she really believed that he'd become one of the nice guys. Occasionally, he succeeded in lying to himself that she was right. Until those times she got too bossy and his hand just itched to slam her pretty little face into a wall.

But he couldn't have her bruised or bleeding because that wouldn't be nice.

There might be some sick, twisted pleasure derived from that but he'd prefer she didn't hate him afterwards. So he lied and played nice.

He lied before but that was small time lying so he could embezzle. Now however, he was up there with the big league liars and somebody really should give him a credit for bothering to. Like, maybe giving him a fighting chance against Tennyson so he could beat the kid within an inch of his life.

Not to death, mind. Gwen wouldn't like that.

And maybe just a little, Tennyson was growing on him. Like a louse. But sometimes, those things need squashing.

Lately, he hadn't been able to move freely enough to do his own squashing. While he was rather adamant about making the animosity between them personal, his restrictions made him a little bit more open-minded to assistance. Besides, any excuse for a good fight on Tennyson's side or the against him was as good an excuse as it can ever be.

The Bellwood sign flashed past him, the letters blurring into incomprehensibility at the speed that he was travelling.

The trade was originally communicated through someone else, the meeting time and place arranged through that particular middle man while Kevin acquired and handed the goods to the prospective buyer. There was a motley crue of varying alien tech that he was delivering to an area annoyingly but crucially far from Bellwood. If his assumptions were correct - which were unlikely but, hey, call it intuition - he knew exactly who he was dealing with. Some of the approximately level five alien tech were vital to engines and machinery important for getting off planet, while the slightly higher alien tech eluded him in their purpose. There was also the almost innocous ID mask.

Almost innocous. Shifting gears to park in the desolate street corner, he noticed a bob of white hair with a recognizable style.

Smirking sneakily as he stepped out of the car, the grin on his face was nearly washed off as the figure in red began to walk hurriedly over to exit the street corner.

"You know, I'd be really pissed off if you take off when I got all that equipment in my trunk," he hinted at a threat, while slowly approaching the figure that was about to leave. The guy stopped, perhaps only to listen, but he continued dryly, "I don't appreciate being dragged to nowhere without getting nothin'."

"As do I," the not Ben replied, making Kevin notice more than a hint of reproach in the tone. No, he did stop to more than just listen. Was that the cue for a fist-smacking session? Kevin was itching for one. "Unfortunately, your wares are untrustworthy seeing that you are an associate of Ben ten."

Far too distracted by the employ of the word 'trust', he guffawed heartily before responding in a purposefully iungratiating tone, "You don't use the word trust on dealers, man, that's a given. If it makes you feel any better, I'll tell you that I got my reasons for doing that stuff and it ain't 'helping' Tennyson." Far too much bad blood had collected regarding that issue that he was unable to hold back the poison dripping in his tone and the murderous look in his eyes.

He already recalled his most recent therapist's condescending advice to think happy thoughts whenever he felt like torching the world, fixing it again, then repeating the act. So he thought of a red-haired girl with sympathetic green eyes that believed. It made him think that burning the world once was enough.

"So I got that tech you ordered," he uttered plainly, returning the topic to the one which will provide profit. "You still want 'em?"

"I wish to inspect them first," was the simply reply of the customer. In response, Kevin opened the trunk of his car and unlatched the case that contained the equipment.

Quality checks were understandable, even Kevin had been duped by the occasional dealer with alien tech that were damaged beyond repair but cleaned to a shine that fooled him into believing they were new. Those dealers obviously had not heard of him before, so he made them remember who he was. In whatever afterlife they believed in, anyway.

Unfortunately this particular check was beginning to pick on the last of his tolerance so Kevin decided it was time to let his tongue off: "Seriously, man. There's no tracking device in there or a bomb that's gonna blow when I'm gone, okay? Are you getting them?"

There really weren't any hidden surprises in the tech because he wasn't entirely sure that it was going to be this guy. He had his suspicions but that didn't qualify for sabotage in the tech. Dead customers were useless because there would be no one to trade with. Only idiots would attempt to do something like that unless assassination was the entire purpose of the meeting. Innocent passersby were A-OK, though.

"I find that claim unreliable and I am certain you would feel the same in my position," the customer retorted. It seemed as though impatience was being shared between them. Yet he looked at Kevin to confirm, "Nonetheless, I will buy them."

As the client's hand inched to pick up the case, he slammed the trunk close just a hair's breadth from crushing not-Ben's fingers. The idea felt good.

"The money first," he demanded, matching the glower that appeared on the client's face. He was hoping for a confrontation; being with the Tennyson cousins prevented him from finding things to vent on outside of seeking justice or some such nonsense. This was the perfect excuse. Any sign that suggested this guy would dial his Omnitrix and he was going to kick his face in.

"Very well," was the response instead, disappointing Kevin just a little bit. Except there was money involved so that didn't last long. Kevin's happiness was directly proportional to the amount of money, after all.

"Why, thank you," he replied in amusement as the guy withdrew his hand before his own could do anything. Not that he was planning anything. Maybe. Counting the credits in his hand, he noticed the bruise forming evidently on the kid's face.

"You look like crap, man," he observed honestly. "Ben did do a number on you, huh?"

"Not so much that I will hesitate to use the Omnitrix on my wrist," the customer threatened, holding the tech a little bit more firmly than Kevin would personally advise. _Sheesh, the kid could use a chill pill._

"No need to get antsy," he pacified, shrugging dismissively while he pocketed the cash. "Just making conversation." He opened the door to his car and sat down.

"If I wanted conversation, I'd discuss with myself. That is the only way to ensure intellectual exchange," Albedo rejoined, sporting the same irritating, patronizing look that those psychologists liked to use on him. Until they realized he could shove his Vulpimancer arm so far up where the sun didn't shine that he could pull the stick shoved in there.

Kevin nabbed at the bait, speeding his car over a puddle until the figure wearing an ID mask to look exactly like Tennyson became drenched in the sludge. Laughing rambunctiously in his car, Kevin watched Albedo remove the ID mask for a moment to shake it of water.

---

The next morning, he decided to drop by Gwen's house for no other reason than wanting to.

Arriving at the front of Gwen's house, he contemplated going through the front door like a normal human being but was deterred slightly by the idea of having a meeting with her parents. Before he had the chance to 'accidentally' break through her window, she appeared in her room in time to glare at him and point downwards. She was saying something inaudible at him or the phone she had plastered on her ear.

Grumbling begrudgingly as he lowered himself from the tree, he knocked on the door as politely as his metal fist could do so.

Gwen opened the door to her house but only took notice enough to wave him inside. She immediately returned her attention to the phone.

"Thieves could get inside," she explained patiently at the mobile, pointing Kevin to the direction of a sofa.

He helped himself to the seat while Gwen entertained the person on the other end of the phone.

"Ha, ha," Gwen sarcastically laughed, curiously glancing at Kevin while doing so. "Can we just get back to your problem?"

"Hello. It's nice to see you, Kevin," the teenage boy covered in different types of solids greeted Gwen, exaggerating feminine movements as he did so. "What brings you here? Would you like something to drink?"

Staring at him sternly, she mouthed 'Not now' towards him before returning to the cell phone to suggest, "If it's bothering you so much, why don't you go talk to her?"

Rolling his eyes while he plopped back down on the sofa, he contemplated different ways to torture the person who was currently taking more of Gwen's attention than he was.

"Just go to her house, talk to her kindly and apologize for being a total asshat. Then if she forgives you, be grateful," Gwen enumerated the steps patiently as if she was talking to a child. "See? It is easy."

This comment gave Kevin an idea of who the person on the other end of the phone was.

"Is that Ben?" he hazarded a guess, receiving a fond if slightly annoyed smile from Gwen as she nodded in verification. "Is he still knee-deep in the crap he put himself in?"

"What? It is easy!" she remarked at the mobile, her fine eyebrows knitted in honest puzzlement. Turning to Kevin, the green of her eyes sparkled while she mocked her cousin affectionately, "Yeah, he's panicking about his so-called 'mental well-being'," she raised two fingers in each hand and signalled commas while using her shoulder to press the phone on her ear, "Guilt's finally got past the cockiness shield into the dweeb."

"Sensitive, my ass," Kevin retorted, smirking with his private victory. He patted himself mentally on the back for not presenting a self that raised anyone's expectations. Not quite a self that would alarm Gwen into avoiding him entirely, however.

Completely understanding what the implication was, Gwen stuck her tongue out jokingly while she resolved to help her cousin first. She continued her phone advice with a firm, "Personal is always better."

"Real mature, Gwen," he responded at the raspberry thrown his way. He ignored the partiality to bite her tongue. Smiling mysteriously, she ignored his remark.

"That's as good a start as any," she sighed in defeat, searching the ceiling for sense that she couldn't quite locate in her cousin.

"Oh, wow, you're welcome," she muttered flatly into the receiver, sitting on Kevin's thighs. Clicking the red button to hang up, she pouted cutely at nowhere in particular.

"He hung up on you?" Kevin asked conversationally, placing his forehead into her hair. Feeling the minute nod as well as hearing an almost inaudible 'Uh-huh', he grinned widely before joking smartly, "So that not greeting thing runs in the family."

She slapped his torso lightly to reprimand him.

Sometimes he lied to himself so well he wasn't sure what was the lie and what was real. For the moment, the feeling of her hair tickling the skin on his cheek felt more real than any of the inclinations in his head.

---

**Author's Notes: **Please _read and review_! *big puppy eyes* I'd love to read constructive criticism since I can't tell all the mistakes by myself. But any notes on what you like or didn't like about the story/ this chapter would also be appreciated. :3 Thanks for reading.


	6. Over and Over, I Fall

**Author's notes:** I love incorporating the yin yang principle in my stories. I also indulge in spiral logic (looking at one situation from every view point - sometimes, literally). So expect much Japanese storytelling measures. :D Hey, Julie, isn't that appropriate?

Chapter title comes from Three Days Grace's song _Over and Over_.

_Cute in Purple: _I'm glad that you enjoy the constant updates. :3 I think it's all for the best. If I stopped writing this for a second it will never be continued and no one will ever see the ending (I'll be too busy with University stuff by the time March rolls around). Can't have that now, can we? ;P

_Alienphantom:_ I don't think it would be past Kevin to have actually lived up to the form of plans he formed during the original Ben 10 series, such as colliding two trains (one filled with money and the other with innocent passengers). The catastrophe would kill people and he didn't shy away from it. From that, I deduced he was willing to kill people to achieve profit, vengeance or the upper hand.

---

Chapter 6: Over and Over I Fall 

On a certain level, she understood. There wasn't nearly as much of the Asian community in her area during the time she was born. Going through childhood in her town had been difficult realizing that her skin was not quite the pale pinkish color of her peers, her eyes a little too dark and slightly more slanted than theirs.

Instead of becoming a shy recluse due to her outsider nature, she decided that it was better to stand up to the plate. Rather than accidentally collect the attention of her peers due to her difference, she became proactive and an extrovert.

Playing tennis the first time was an attempt to acquire the high regard of her classmates and to obtain friends. Now she really did personally enjoy the sport for itself. High grades were to please her parents as well as to make people in her school notice the fact that she was smart and hardworking, not the fact that she was half-Asian.

Slowly while the number of Asians in her community trickled through, she was feeling less and less remarkable, and more normal. Some people would even go so far as to indicate that she was boring. There was something of a restrained elegance to her, striving to attract only the right kind of attention for fear of humiliation and truly becoming pushed into being an outcast.

Inherently, however, all she really wanted was adventure. Admittedly having a rather dull and ordinary life, the greatest concern she had was whether her scores were going to plummet to a B. Which, while a legitimate cause for apprehension, was no different to everyone else's around her. There were times she bored _herself_ to tears.

Then Ben came. Adventure tagged along his side like a lost lap dog looking for a viable owner and he was perfect for the position. She gravitated to him as much. Something about him stood out, other than that he was kind, a little bit shy, humorous, bursting with personality, athletic and had the brightest green eyes she had ever seen.

Julie knew that at that point, he had her.

---

She grounded him in normalcy.

Ben Tennyson, savior of the entire Universe, bearer of the Omnitrix, enjoyed the glory associated with his list of deeds. There were constant adventures meeting a vast range of aliens, friendly and hostile. His life was a rollercoaster of excitement, filled with action at every corner.

It was probably partly due to growing older or perhaps becoming tired after all the battles. In the end, all he wanted was to come home to something that didn't feel like a dream. A place that wasn't composed of chaos. A haven for calm.

_She_ was that haven.

---

Their date was the most interesting she's ever had. The part where they started walking back home from the Pier was not exactly exciting and left sores on her foot afterwards. That was irrelevant, though. What mattered that day was that she met Ship for the very first time. What mattered was the feeling of Ben's fingers intertwining with hers. What mattered was that he had been so concerned about her; her safety, her reaction towards the Omnitrix.

Transforming into ten different monsters to save the world? It was _cool_.

She didn't like him in spite of his difference but _because_ of it. She knew how it was to be different, to feel like standing out when all you wanted was to be a part of the crowd. Nonetheless, growing older only taught her one lesson: it wasn't horrible to stand out because these variations made people who they were.

And Ben's difference made him special. Especially to her.

---

He didn't want her to think he was weird.

Julie had approached him after his soccer match, congratulating him for their team's success. He was more than just a little bit flustered. An attractive girl who was intelligent, good at tennis, confident, patient and kind took notice of him. Convinced that she was out of his league, Gwen's suggestion – order – to ask her out had been inconceivable.

But when he did, she had accepted with no hesitation. Therefore, that night had to be perfect.

Everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong during that date that he had been forced to own up to what he did in his spare time.

Instead of being fearful or disgusted about the fact that he was not just one monster but ten, she was completely accepting. No irony or anything. She didn't even attempt to lie her way to escape a possible retaliation from a monster. She honestly believed that the entire situation was _cool_.

He was smitten.

---

Julie went outside through the back door and was greeted by Ship's enthusiastic yapping. Smiling to herself, she reached out her hands at the Galvanic Mechamorph that was affectionately rubbing itself against her legs.

Carrying him in her arms and stroking him, she said solemnly, "Good boy."

---

"Gwen, I need your help!" he whined into the phone, shovelling a fistful of chilli fries into his open mouth. He garbled almost incomprehensibly as he chewed and spoke at the same time, "I'm going crazy!"

"I thought that happened a long time ago," she commented dryly, her teasing smile leaking through the receiver.

"This is serious, Gwen!" he swallowed, dipping his hand into the chilli fries box as he opened the television with purposeful caution. "It's not funny."

"Okay, so it's more than the usual," she amended, after a moment of silence as she processed how serious his comment was. "What do you need my help for?"

"You know, cherry blossom trees are the only trees I know that's just made up completely of flowers," he dwelled contemplatively, dangling a fry over his mouth before letting it drop like a bomb. All the while he was making a very horrible imitation of a Stuka dive bomber plane sound.

"Concentrate, Ben," she hissed, pronouncing all the syllables slowly for emphasis. "What is driving you crazy?"

"Julie," he answered grimly, a stark contrast to his childish attitude a moment ago. Fumbling with the hem of his jacket, he allowed the humiliated silence to set before he felt comfortable enough to continue. "She's everywhere."

"You mean, she did come over to your place?" she responded in astonishment, her voice just overarching on top of an obnoxiously loud engine noise. "I think I just heard Kevin's car."

"_No! _That's the entire point," he complained desperately, chewing down chilli fries forcefully. "I haven't seen her at all and everything reminds me of her. It's driving me insane!" He absolutely needed a smoothy to wash that down.

"He hasn't knocked on the door yet," she observed fearfully, comprehending what that implied.

"What?" Ben questioned in bafflement, halfway through placing another batch of fries into his mouth.

"Kevin. He hasn't knocked or rang the doorbell. I better get upstairs before he breaks that window," she stated resolutely, the sound of her feet quickly pattering up the stairs filtering into the receiver. "He probably thinks my parents are here."

"We were talking about Julie," Ben reminded impatiently, staring at the phone since he wasn't face-to-face with Gwen. "This is all important to my mental well-being, you know. Pretend to care, at least."

"Go down. Use the door!" she ordered distractedly. With a much nicer tone, she reacted, "I do care, Ben. It's just that I also care about having a window that isn't smashed. Thieves could get inside."

"Aren't you letting one in your front door?" Ben retorted sarcastically, stuffing his mouth with more chilli fries while flicking through channels on his television.

"Ha, ha," Gwen mock laughed. "Can we just get back to your problem?"

He mumbled petulantly that he had just been saying that.

"If it's bothering you so much, why don't you go talk to her?" she proposed calmly.

"You make it sound so easy," he remarked, beginning to play with the empty box by sliding it over his bed with a finger.

"Just go to her house, talk to her kindly and apologize for being a total asshat—"

"Hey!" he intruded, offended by the label.

"Then if she forgives you, be grateful," she continued lightly, with the confidence of someone who wasn't within the line of fire and simply observing safely from afar. "See? It is easy."

"Am I allowed to hate you more than the usual required familial hate?" he asked sardonically, practicing basketball with the container of chilli fries and the bin a few steps from him.

"What? It is easy!" she responded in genuine confusion. He could vaguely hear her respond to Kevin's gibberish of a comment, "Yeah, he's panicking about his so-called mental well-being. Guilt's finally got past the cockiness shield into the dweeb."

Ben decided to ignore that comment because of the playful note in her voice. "Shouldn't I call her first?" he asked uncertainly, finally giving up on the television when he found nothing of interest.

"Personal is always better," Gwen stated persistently.

"She might not be at home, you know," he excused, standing up to have a larger space to fidget on. "She might not want to see me yet, too. It was so recent..."

There was a sigh. "That's as good a start as any."

"Yeah, okay," he finished the conversation and hung up.

Dialling Julie's number, he hoped for the best. Before the number connected, the nervousness that coiled tightly in his stomach forced the fingers that held the phone to click the red button.

"Sandra?" Ben shouted down from his room, practically slamming the door open.

"Yes?" she replied curiously, and her voice was followed by a suspicious shattering sound and a row of garbled cursing.

"Are you cooking?" he asked, standing on tiptoes to inhale even more of the heavenly scent coming from the kitchen. "I think I'm still hungry."

---

"Excuse me," the brown-haired boy greeted with radiating self-confidence that bordered on arrogance, steely green eyes boring holes through the woman who opened the door. "Does this happen to be the residence of Julie Yamamoto?"

Mrs. Yamamoto raised an eyebrow curiously at her daughter's boyfriend. There was no smell of alcohol and no evident sign of having taken any drugs. Regardless of how indulgent she could be with her daughter - a complete opposite to the more authoritarian, slightly overprotective parenting that her husband believed in - she wasn't a complete flake.

"Ben, are you high?" she asked in a tone of careful patience, placing a hand over her hip. The suggestion would have been incredibly out of character, considering how shy the boy had seemed when he picked her daughter up during their first date. In fact, he was incredibly fidgety about making the right impression while facing the grim-faced Mr. Yamamoto. He had been to the place a few more times afterwards and had no trouble remembering Julie's house. The only rational explanation to Mrs. Yamamoto had to be drugs or alcohol. No matter how bewildering the idea of the well-mannered young man taking a hold of illegal substances.

There was a moment of silence.

"I beg your pardon?" he answered in honest bafflement, knitting his eyebrows.

"Ben," Julie gasped in surprise from behind her mother, her fingers hovering over her lips as she watched the visitor on the front door. This emotion dissipated eventually as her expression sobered. Sticking her thumbs underneath the straps of her black and green backpack, she stated impassively, "You're here."

Fairly adept at noticing changes in atmosphere, Mrs. Yamamoto was immediately alerted of the suddenly strained silence between the two. So, something interesting was happening. Excusing herself, she trudged towards the kitchen for pretence of doing something. She kept her ears perked for interesting titbits.

Before launching into an educated and planned script, he paused while he analysed the somber face that the girl was sporting. Instead, he questioned cautiously, "What is wrong?"

"I don't know," Julie blurted, unable to keep the hurt from her voice. "Do you still think I'm a load?"

His mouth opened. Then closed. He was at a loss for what to say.

"I know I'm not exactly like you guys," she continued, walking outside and pushing him lightly with a hand on his chest while using her other hand to close the front door. "I haven't got that magic that Gwen does, I can't turn into metal or stone like Kevin and I don't have an Omnitrix. I'm not even part alien. I'm only useful when I'm with Ship." She exhaled sadly. "But I do try. I really, really want to help. Please don't just tell me that doesn't matter. Even a little.

"It hurt, Ben," she told the ground below her, unwilling to look at him directly. "What you said hurt."

Filtering through his body's fierce, burning sensation in his chest and the incredible inclination to pummel what was making her hurt, he cleared his throat.

"I, Ben Tennyson, apologize," he iterated seriously, placing a hand over his chest. There was no irony; no sarcasm. Just sincerity that requested to be considered.

Raising her head to gaze at him, she replayed the words in her head. For a moment, she simply stared. Despite formerly feeling as if her heart was made of lead, she laughed cheerfully. She wiped her eyes when she finished her outburst.

"You're using third person again, Ben," Julie reminded, smiling fondly while tucking a strand of brown hair behind his ear. There was something strange that her finger brushed against, but the overwhelming gratefulness she felt made her ignore this.

"Ah, yes," the brown haired teen tried uncomfortably, feeling blood rush to his face. The tickling warmth of her finger still lingering on his skin. "That happens."

Julie giggled behind her hand and said kindly, "I forgive you."

"Either way," he continued determinedly, wrapping a hand around her wrist. "Allow me to make it up to you." The words simply formed as another direction was taken. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?" Julie teased playfully, sliding closer to him so she could hook her arm around his. "What is it?"

"Answering that would defeat the purpose," he replied quickly, refusing to look at her. The steps he strode were measured and less casual than normal and Julie pegged this for nervousness about his surprise.

"But first," she requested sweetly, a finger raised to stop him from his tracks momentarily. His head turned back to face her to encourage her to continue. "Let's drop by Mr. Smoothy for that date we didn't have last time."

Once he had turned the concept over in his head, he smiled in a way that chilled Julie to her spine.

"That _is_ a wonderful idea," he agreed simply, directing both of them to the bus stop.

Meanwhile, Julie's backpack kept on moving excessively as though in panic.

---

"Ship, stop it," the black-haired girl reprimanded in a soft but stern voice, placing the backpack on her lap. As soon as this was done, the Galvanic Mechamorph returned to its original form and continued to make a fuss by producing alarmed cries. Wrapping her arms around him, she glanced at the other people on the bus and exhaled in relief when they remained oblivious.

"What is the matter?" the brunette asked, staring intently at the Mechamorph.

Flinching backwards as the teenage boy came within a closer perimeter, Ship immediately turned into a heavily armed gun that pointed threateningly.

Panicking at the aggressive nature that Ship was taking to Ben, she quickly placed herself between them.

"No, Ship!" she commanded firmly, hoping that her pet would stop trying to kill her boyfriend. Annoyed at the commotion he was making, she continued ordering in as low a voice as she could while trying to be stern, "Change back right now."

Detecting the anger that was in her tone, Ship returned to his original form and snuggled against her side comfortingly.

"I don't know what's wrong with him," she explained, staring at the green eyes that was currently preoccupied with staring at her pet. Rubbing her fingers over her forehead, she mumbled, "He's usually a good boy."

"I believe Ship should return home," he said finally, the steely green eyes returning their gaze forward when the bus stopped at their destination.

Returning to backpack form, Ship wrapped himself around Julie's back and remained quiet while the two teenagers went down the bus. They ambled quietly for a minute.

"Oh, come on," Julie giggled at her companion's lapse in memory. "I thought you said Ship should always be with me." The patrons of the Mr. Smoothy store conducted conversations that drowned out her meek voice once they stepped inside. "You know, just in case." Her eyes flicked suggestively regarding their other sideline.

His mouth shifted distastefully when the Mechamorph budged away from him almost imperceptibly, making a technological sound of a hiss.

"This is not one of those moments," he retracted unwaveringly, sitting down ramrod straight on their chosen table.

Ship slithered downwards to rub its head against Julie's leg affectionately as if in apology.

"Ben," she pleaded, tickling Ship on the side with two of her knuckles.

"I want the mechamorph to go back," he gritted stubbornly, glowering at the Mechamorph wrapping itself around Julie's leg while his arms crossed distrustfully over his chest.

That look on his face was so reminiscent of the time when the Vreedle brothers attempted to repossess Ship that she felt her lips tug upwards.

"Ben, I already told you. He's just my pet," Julie laughed in a tinkling voice that was ripe with amusement, the chuckle filtered through a small cupped hand. "No need to get jealous."

Red faced and flustered at the implication, he remarked defensively, "I am not. "

Just in time to interrupt the discussion, Julie's phone began to ring noisily. The vibration only added to the din that it was making. When Julie did pull the offending device out of the pocket of her pink sweater, looking sheepishly at her companion and the other customers, the ringing stopped.

Upon checking the name on the screen, her eyebrows furrowed.

Looking upwards, she showed her date who had been calling her.

"No need to call me, you know," she joked lightly, "I'm right in front of you."

Unexpectedly narrowing his eyes instead of appearing embarrassed, she watched her boyfriend's hand extend.

"May I borrow it for a moment?" he asked politely, although there was a certain edge to his voice that was making Julie uncomfortable.

Nonetheless, she shrugged and dropped the mobile into his hand.

"I need to go to the toilet for a minute," she excused, standing up daintily and peering fleetingly at the mostly quiet but still avoidant Ship. "Watch over Ship, okay? And order for the two of us already. Just chocolate for me, please."

"Right," he reassured, nodding his head to permit her to leave.

After her retreating pink figure disappeared behind a turn, the hand that clutched the phone dropped it to the ground. The screen cracked and blacked out and was then quickly stepped on to become a dust of metal before Ship could advance to the cellphone.

The green of his eyes darkened as he smirked down at the now extremely alarmed Mechamorph.

Producing sharp distressed sounds that repeated his name, Ship slinked down the ground to where his owner was.

---

A brown haired boy chewing miserably on a piece of chicken felt too depressed to continue when his phone informed him for the nth time that the other line was busy. At first, the line was ringing and was simply not answered. However, at some point the connection was no longer established.

Ben was right. He swallowed the food with great difficulty. She _didn't_ want to talk to him.

"Carl, can you pass the gravy?" he asked, attempting to drown his sorrow in food.

---

Squealing briefly, then slapping a hand over her mouth, Julie glared at her pet as it continued to frantically panic around her after it slipped under the door.

"Ship!" she yelped shrilly, trying to keep her voice down when the pitter patter of heeled shoes sounded from outside her cubicle. She hissed sharply, "This is the ladies's toilet. Get out!"

Ship attempted with all his might to convey his message, to no avail. His owner continued to stare at his efforts with increasing annoyance.

Sighing in defeat, she muttered to herself with a roll of her eyes, "Great. Now both of you are jealous of each other."

In response to this, Ship began to hysterically slide along the tiles in circles as if he didn't know what to do next.

"Please, Ship, just stop," she instructed persistently, wagging her index finger. "You know what? Ben's right. You should go home."

Making pathetic mewling 'Ship' sounds, Ship sunk his body on the ground to make her take pity on him. She didn't.

Grabbing him and telling him to return to backpack form, she stepped outside of her cubicle so that she could wash her hands and grumble about how unfair Ship was being.

---

"So, the usual it is," the man at the counter confirmed, taking the cash that was handed by the teenager in the green coat.

After retrieving the drinks in his hand, Albedo pivoted and strolled casually to their seats. Placing the smoothies on top of the table, he opened the cup labeled chocolate to discreetly drop a substance called Gamma-hydroxy butyric acid into the drink.

"You don't wanna stay for a bit?" Julie questioned as she reappeared behind him, noticing his standing position while he retrieved the drinks in his hand again.

"No. Your surprise is waiting," he verified, stretching his hand to give her the drink while flashing her a charming smile.

Trying to covertly hide the color on her cheeks, she pretended tuck her hair behind her ear. This was a fruitless action for once she raised her head again, the hair covered her ear again.

"You're right," Julie decided finally, removing the backpack from her back. "Ship should go home."

"Allow me to escort him out," he proposed, offering the hand that wasn't holding the smoothy. "To make peace."

The frantic movement began again, Ship struggling as he was handed to the brunette. The previously delicate hold of his owner was replaced by an iron grip that was hurting the Mechamorph. Unfortunately, Ship didn't dare make sounds in such a public area.

When Albedo stepped outside the building, the tranquil expression on his face evaporated to become one of disdain.

"Finally, to put an end to your troublemaking nuisance," the teen hissed at the struggling symbiote, neutralizing him while he was in the middle of a transformation to a weapon. The green lines that snaked across Ship's body turned gray. He added jeeringly, "Greet Ben Tennyson for me," dropping the frozen Mechamorph into a trash receptacle and closing the lid.

Going towards the door, he opened it to allow Julie to step outside.

"So, what happened with Ship?" she asked carefully, worried that an event might have happened but thankful that it was at least rather short.

"He simply followed the bus to return home," he informed, turning his gaze away so that she didn't notice his left eye twitching spastically.

"That's great!" she exclaimed gratefully, placing her hand on her chest in relief. "I thought he would try to kill you or something."

Her honest laughter was combined with his discomfited chuckle.

"What a strange concoction," he observed after taking a sip of the beverage in his hand.

"That's what I told you the first time," she chatted jovially, her steps bouncing while she sipped into her chocolate smoothy. "I still think it is, by the way."

"Yet, bizarrely satisfying," he commented, drinking more as they both stepped even closer towards the bus stop.

When they sat down on the waiting area, Julie noticed that the sudden movement made her feel queasy. Placing a hand over head, she tried to control her eyelids from closing lest she slumped down on the pavement.

"Is there anything wrong?" he questioned in concern, holding her arm as she nearly toppled over. The bus arrived just in time as he said this. He placed his completely finished smoothie down on the seat, just in case he needed both hands to steady her.

"Maybe I should go home, actually," she pardoned herself, giving him the most apologetic look she could muster through the haze of dizziness. "We could do this next time."

He helped raised her from her seat.

"This will only take a while," he convinced, in a slightly wavering calm voice as he held her hand to lead her up into the bus.

"Ben," she insisted in a low tone, decisively taking her hand from him and trying to prevent her eyelids from closing. "I'm tired. I want to go home. And my curfew is in a few, anyway."

Gnashing his teeth in aggravation, Albedo forced a smile to his lips to placate her. "I understand but I insist on showing it to you. It is important to me," he almost pleaded, seizing her wrist to hold it tightly. "Please bear with me for a while longer."

Julie couldn't believe her eyes. He was pulling a wounded puppy look with his bright green eyes that was melting her knees. That was completely unfair. Not to mention manipulative. And absolutely _adorable_.

Sighing in defeat, she allowed him to drag her towards the bus. Stepping up to the platform, she reminded sternly, "Just don't forget my curfew, okay? My parents will kill me."

She missed the dark expression of triumph that flitted momentarily across his face.

"Of course."

Inside the bus, the purr of the engine, the secure arm around her shoulders and the soft fabric of his jacket under her head lulled her into a quiet slumber. The empty chocolate smoothy cup rolled down the floor.

**---**

**Author's Notes: **By the way, Gamma-hydroxy butyric acid/GHB is more commonly known as the _date rape drug_. Think of it what you will. (wink)

There's no option of Action in the genre labels. This story is supposed to be a Action/Romance/Humor. For shame, Fanfiction . net! You know, for someone's who's writing a romance, I seem to suck so much at the romance bits of this story :/. Then again, I do pride in my fight scenes. ;P So I apologize for the badly done romance. Hope I'll get better at it as I keep writing.

_So please leave reviews so that you can advise me how to fix it! _Much love to you, readers!


	7. I Try Not To

**Author's Notes**: Somebody should give me an award. I was writing this chapter from 10:00 pm to 7:00 in the morning, the next day. Okay, so I gave in to the next best thing on the genre with Adventure. Is that inaccurate? I think it kind of is but I can't resort to anything else.

I'm _this_ close to throwing a psycho hissy fit. I _need_ to watch the Above and Beyond episode. I need another reference other than Good Copy, Bad Copy… Okay, I admit. That's a lie. I just want to see Albedo in another episode. Sue me. XD

_Anonymous reviewer: _'Roofies' or Flunitrazepam is another type of date-rape drug less commonly used in comparison to GHB; though it is incorrectly cited as being widely used. The two drugs's effects are slightly different, though the most important attribute of both is their ability to put someone to sleep. But I'm not supposed to be teaching Pharmacology so ignore that if you want. :P

_Read and review please! _

Chapter 7: I Try Not To

Dark brown eyes fluttered open. Fluorescent lights glared overhead. Vision quivered blearily, desperate to remain beyond the indistinct images that presented themselves. A wash of darkness. The eyes squeezed. Eyelids strived to unfasten from each other. Brown and gray smudges of color greeted the eyes when they opened. Eventually, the lines became distinct and the shapes took form. Dilapidated metal piping of an unused ventilation system collected lines of spider webs on their sides. Wooden beams feebly retained the structure of the ceiling.

Using both her elbows for support, Julie tried to push her body off the floor. Muscles trembling at the movement, she adjusted her position to prop up her rise to a sit with the ends of her wrist.

Her stomach compressed, pushing at its contents into her throat. Barring her teeth firmly, she stopped the desire to vomit by sheer force of will. The bitter aftertaste that formed in her mouth was swiftly ignored.

_Where was she?_

Rows upon rows of boxes and crates lined the room, stacked on top of each other or placed along aisles. There were spots of faded violet paint on the wood that seemed to already be graying with age. Julie assumed the place was some form of storage building.

A warehouse.

She was located haphazardly on a dark corner cradled with a few crates, sprawled painfully on top of a spread out cardboard. Surrounding her area were what she believed to be computer monitors, large wiring snaked from behind, some of the coiling plugs disappearing behind the crates while the others were more visibly seen ending at the electric sockets on the wall.

Wondering briefly what they were for, she quickly ignored it for the much more important issue of where she was. Ascending unsteadily, she wobbled even on her own two feet. Fingers clasping painfully on the crate beside her, she gingerly took a few steps.

Julie considered calling out Ben's name for help but a small nervous part of her told her otherwise. _Was it Ben who took her there? For what? Why did her skull feel as if it wanted to implode?_ Questions raced inside her head, competing for the chance to be answered.

Gritting her teeth forcefully, she willed the words in her mind to stop blaring so loudly. Of course, she knew that made as much sense as her current situation. Unfortunately, the rest of the brain cells that weren't busy asking questions had sputtered and burnt out, as if she'd just ingested a large amount of alcohol.

There was only one time that Julie had drunk alcohol - beer specifically - and it was completely by accident. It must have been New Year's Day and a few relatives had dropped over to their house to celebrate. She knew for certain that the Japanese side of their family took any and all excuse to drink alcohol and the American side of her family were only all too willing to oblige.

An uncle of hers had left a glass filled with a fizzy, light yellow colored beverage that she supposed was lemonade. Since she was a clueless little girl who loved lemonade, she practically swallowed the cup in two gulps. It was the most bitter, disgusting lemonade she had ever drunk. The entire night had been spent light-headed, doing ridiculous things that even Ben would have been embarrassed of, much to the amusement of her family members. The next day after that incident was exactly how she was right at the moment. Her mother nearly grounded her for forever for not asking what the drink was.

Julie personally promised herself to never drink beer for the rest of her life.

Currently she was planning to strangle the someone who was making her experience her childhood hangover, version 2.0. It didn't matter if it was herself. She would happily strangle herself to sever the hammering throb in her brain.

_What had happened yesterday?_

After feeling like she had been strolling aimlessly around the warehouse for an endless amount of time, she spotted two figures standing within an eye-scorchingly bright entrance. The distance she was in only allowed her to perceive shadows, the figures being against the light source.

Much smaller boxes were placed adjacent the two people and their stance seemed to be that they were making a transaction. As she stepped even closer within their perimeter while trying to remain obscured behind boxes, she peered to discern their faces. The one further outside appeared to be an oversized porcupine while the other figure was a black haired young man in a black shirt and jeans partially hidden under leather boots.

"Nice place you got here, kid," the slight creature remarked conversationally, his snout twitching in curiosity as he flicked his gaze from side to side. "Very nice. Well-hidden an' everything."

The person whose back was facing Julie simply grunted in reply, mysteriously holding one of the small boxes in his hand and shifting it from different angles in observation.

"Kevin told me 'bout you," the porcupine added, oblivious to the disinterest of his conversation partner. "Well, if you really are that guy. S'posed to look like that Ben Tennyson kid." This seemed to perk the figure's interest that he stopped counting the cash that occupied his hand. Julie herself nearly jumped into their view upon the name drop. "Not that you look that much like 'im. Same name, but."

"Rewind to your previous statement," the taller individual intruded, his black clothed body standing straighter. "You mentioned that you have encountered Ben formerly."

"Yeah," the porcupine shrugged flippantly, though the pride in his voice hadn't been concealed as well as the shrug. "Few times." However, he produced a sound of distaste as he continued, "Not very pleasant circumstances but hey. Not as chummy with 'im as Kev."

"You happen to be an acquaintance of this," the black-haired man waved his hand uncertainly, "Kevin, then? And this friend of yours is connected with Ben Tennyson?"

At this point, Julie didn't resist the desire to peer much more closely at the taller man by moving at a different side of the box. The hole she could see through was a bit smaller, but it gave her a much more definitive sight of the black-haired figure. The tan skin and purely black eyes were unfamiliar, though the expression of deep seriousness and unveiled condescension nagged and tugged her to the direction of a memory at the back of her mind.

"Yeah, sure," the porcupine shrugged in agreement since he could hear the possibility of money trickling in his client's tone. The laughable concept of being friends with Kevin aside, the statement was mostly correct. "Why not?"

"I see," the figure contemplated vocally, placing a hand under his chin while staring at the general area of the floor.

"If you still got more credits on ya, my tongue could get loose," the porcupine offered deviously, leaning in conspiratorially at his customer. "Your man, Argit's, got info if you got the dough."

Silence permeated in the warehouse for a while, until Julie noticed the taller figure remove his own face from his chin.

"Heh! You really do look alike!" the one named Argit declared, peering up at his customer with incredible curiosity. "'Cept for the hair."

Julie felt her heart sink, eyes widening in realization when she recognized the figure in front of her. The stark white hair and glinting blood colored eyes that glared contemptuously at the porcupine-like creature he was trading with. A mask of some sort hung on his fingers; exactly the type she saw Kevin used when he needed to walk down the streets discreetly.

Sobering so quickly, a blink completely washed the blurriness from her dark, horrified eyes.

She had to get out of there.

The entrance was blocked where they were conducting the deal. She needed to find another part of the warehouse that had an exit. Frantically flipping her gaze from side to side, she took her chance and sprinted.

Behind a row of crates, she detected a large double door near the corner. Though upon approaching what she hoped would be an exit, she noticed the metal chains wrapped securely around the handles. Making a pathetic groan, she slid into a stop to turn another way.

While she was running along the maze of boxes, her gaze connected with stunned red eyes on the other side. She ran faster than ever when she saw those eyes narrow into focused slits. The rubber soles of her shoes thundered along the hardwood, her eyes focusing on what appeared to be an outline of a door on the other end of her path. She collided painfully into something red that simply appeared out of nowhere.

Rubbing her fingers over her slightly sore nose, the vice-like grip on her upper arms made her stop.

"What do you think you are doing?" her captor demanded, the pale hands shaking the sense roughly into her.

Thinking quickly, she stomped heavily on the foot of the young man who wasn't Ben. He grunted in pain and loosened his grip enough to give her space to scamper away again. So she did.

Yesterday. The flashbacks of that day dashed within her thoughts in a similar fashion as the adrenaline in her veins. She scurried past the row of boxes, barely noticing a flash of green light behind her. The hard material her finger brushed against when tucking his hair. The Mr. Smoothy building. Her cellphone. She fumbled all over her person while avoiding the aisle of crates in front of her, the muscles in her legs burning, searing at her speed. Her _missing_ cellphone. Which she gave Ben.

No, not Ben.

"_I have an evil twin!" he announced with great vigor, green eyes twinkling. _

Blue wings flapping on top of her created a shadow from above that wrapped around intimidatory over her form. Her legs complained as she accelerated.

More memories filtered in. The bus. The chocolate smoothy with the strange aftertaste. _Cold_, green eyes.

She realized too late how useless her running had been as she practically flew into a wall. Green light scattered again. Strong arms pinned her wrists to the wall, her cheek was flattened so brutally on the cement that she felt her skin was scratched raw, her feet dangled underneath her as she was slightly elevated until their faces were both at the same height. At least, this was what she assumed from the distance of the warmth from his steady breathing.

"Seize this nonsense," her captor barked through clenched teeth, his breath tickling her ear. "How far do you wish to test my patience?"

Whimpering pathetically, she cowered as much as her form could from the restriction set by his body.

Albedo could attest to the plain fact that Earth was primarily composed of revolting stench. Everything was a disgusting assault on his senses, especially the repugnant teenage body he was in. Nonetheless, he observed that the strands of black hair brushing against his skin smelled fragrant. A note of something foreign yet pleasant. Only noting a few moments after the fact, his thumb had unconsciously been tracing a line down the soft, smooth skin of her arm.

Mouth gaping and lips trembling, he stumbled backwards and released her from his iron grip. The sensation was heady, the memory of the fragrance clouding his mind from coherence.

Swearing underneath his breath, he dwelled on how much more disgusting his body felt at this instant.

Julie was so busy listing an imaginary will that she almost didn't notice the pressure from behind her easing slightly. Almost. The pure terror made her hypersensitive, hearing her captor's breathing pattern change to a heavier, deeper one when his hands no longer tried to puncture holes into her wrists. Instead, his thumb stroked her arm downwards.

Something about the situation was making her incredibly uncomfortable, though she wasn't quite sure why. Instead of thinking about that further, she observed how the dark jeans behind her were grazing her bare legs.

The flinch of his hand away from her was violent. Shortly afterwards, the rest of her body was released and her shoes squeaked on the hardwood when she dropped.

Once she turned to warily face him, she realized that he was preoccupied with glaring down at his own hands, face contorted in an expression of revulsion and mortification. All the while, she was rubbing her sore, bright red wrists as she observed him silently.

Recalling her last conversation with the real Ben, she asked meekly, "Albedo, right?"

She hadn't been expecting an answer. The question was just supposed to fill the growing, cancerous silence.

"That is correct," he confirmed sharply, red eyes raising slowly to glare at the trembling girl holding her arm protectively. The previous emotions had dissolved into the overwhelming patronizing expression.

Refusing to look directly into eyes that were a disturbing mockery of Ben's, she budged her head downwards to stare at the floor.

"Perhaps this appearance fools you into complacency," Albedo commented, pointing at himself for emphasis. "Remember that I am not Ben Tennyson. I will not exercise leniency on your insubordination."

Despite her fear and complete understanding of the implication in the threat, Julie was dogged by the idea of her uselessness. Rather than listen to whatever part of her brain left that remained sensible, she listened to the defiant part that screamed for her to run. Completely unpredictably, she tried to speed past him.

The shock of her continued persistence wore off and he pursued her again.

This time, the chase was brief.

Grabbing the hood of her sweatsuit when he came close enough, he heaved her backwards, causing her to lose footing. When her body hit his chest, he wrapped his arm around her securely to prevent her from further inducing damage to herself while he detected the common carotid artery on her neck. Legs thrashing wildly in panic, her sharp fingernails squeezed right through the sleeve. He pressed his fingers on the artery in her neck. Withstanding the pain for a few more seconds, he exhaled gratefully when her arms dangled limply down her sides.

---

Groggily, she rubbed her eyes of sleep. Yawning widely, she stretched her arms out as she sat up. Julie froze in a stretching position when she registered the dark brown crates bordering where she slept, the large wirings that were twirling, coiling in a jumbled mess around the green computer monitors and rubber shoes attached to black jeans. Slowly she elevated her gaze from the shoes, up the legs, the jacket with a ten on the side and then up to the sneering pale face.

A hand outstretched, holding a plate filled with food.

"Refuel," he ordered sternly, placing a hand over his hip. "As enticing as the concept of you fainting from lack of nourishment, I prefer you not foiling my plans by perishing."

Biting her lower lip, Julie shyly reached out a hand - both hands to the plate. She paused. Glowing green discs were snapped firmly around both her wrists.

"Not only severely restricting your movement, it monitors whether you have stepped outside the designated radius and alerts me," the white haired teenager explained patiently, putting the plate on her open palms.

Sitting down in front of the monitors, he clicked an indiscernible button on the side of one computer which caused all of them to light up. A light projection from a thin tower appeared as a keyboard in front of him. Dragging the virtual hardware closer from underneath, he began to type speedily.

Julie's mouth formed an O in wonder and amazement.

"And if it happens to do so," he muttered, his eyes glared towards the screen in front of him. "The crate at your side is a manual and primitive, albeit effective, form of containment."

Mouth clasping shut, she started to lose appetite. She pointedly avoided having to look at the crate on her left.

There was only one solution then. She had to remove those cuffs.

For a long time, her captor remained at his station typing away at the computers. Occasionally, he glared at her so that she shovelled the food in her mouth and swallowed. He repeated that procedure until her plate was empty.

She really preferred the innocent, happy-go-lucky expressions that Ben possessed over the coldly focused, automaton-like behavior of this Albedo person. The fact that he was using Ben's eyes to glare at her just broke her heart. _Did Ben miss her? Did anyone notice she'd been kidnapped? Did she miss her curfew?_

Picking up the plate, he rose to dispose of it somewhere.

When he disappeared, she quickly crawled to the monitors to examine what exactly he was doing. The characters on the screen were like nothing she'd ever seen, so they probably weren't even in a human language. Knowing she had nothing to go by with reading the monitors, she scampered to fumble around the equipment just in case she found what controlled the cuffs.

Hoping dearly that he wouldn't hear her going through his gear, she searched every nook and corner and checked all types of devices to find out whether they seemed to control her handcuffs.

Momentarily losing her patience, she attempted to break them by slamming the discs forcefully on the floor. The pain that laced down her arm nearly made her scream but she bit her tongue just in time.

Closing her eyes for a while, she slapped herself upside the head with great difficulty. She nearly poked her own eye out in the process. Black hair plastered to her skin, she scoured harder, courageously pressing buttons on devices she picked up. A few times she encountered remotes that did other things. She panicked when instead of unlocking the cuffs, the monitors began to make beeping sounds and started shifting from their places. She pressed another button that thankfully stopped the beeping even if the changes in position were retained.

Sighing, she tried another one. The object was long and flat, though it seemed foldable and had something that appeared to be a hook at the corner. Tracing her fingers over the surface, she was overjoyed to detect what could be a button. Pressing it lightly, the cuffs clicked open and the green glowing material condensed into the small silver cube in the middle.

Utterly stunned by how simple it was, she poked the cube for a moment. Nothing happened. No lasers attacking her from secret compartments under the hardwood. No blaring alarms that sounded up to several miles. No angry white-haired teenage boys transforming into aliens that would beat her to a pulp.

Soundlessly squealing to herself, she kissed the remote. Placing it down the floor quietly, she sneaked around the boxes to find a way out.

Julie stopped for a moment to look up.

On the far end of the wall, she found a grill with missing screws.

---

Placing the last of the boxes down on the floor, he closed the large metal door behind him. Returning to his workstation, his eyes widened at his equipment scattered like trash all over the floor. As he hurried to the monitors, he searched for the most important thing in the place.

Red eyes glinted dangerously upon spotting the flat remote lying innocently on its own on the ground.

Twisting the Omnitrix to a form he wanted, he slammed his hand on it as it was selected.

An Aerophibian sped into the air, searching the entire warehouse through aerial view. Finding nothing but the monotonous row of boxes, he cursed irritably. The Aerophibian exited the warehouse and made a thorough search of the surrounding fields outside. The light of the moon provided enough lighting since the rural area was decidedly barren. Still, he found nothing.

Albedo knew for certain that if she was outside, there was only a certain distance she would have been able to cover during the time he disappeared. He hasn't conducted the search of the warehouse well enough.

Gliding downwards, he noted that the roof was completely lacking in what would be a blatantly evident pink clothed girl. He landed quickly, using both hands to raise the metal door and closed it behind him once he was inside.

He returned to his workplace, picking up a round computer which blinked open when he spoke in Galvan.

---

Crawling through the vents carefully, Julie tried her best not to make excessive noises even if she was starting to feel claustrophobic. She hoped that she would find a direction that would get her outside. The knowledge of where she was still remained unknown but she was going to go over that bump once she arrived there. At the moment, she was preoccupied with feeling her way outside of the warehouse.

---

Albedo was frustrated to no end, activating the radar function on his machinery to locate the girl. After the device alerted him of her position - a small blip slowly moving around the monitor - he stared at the relatively empty ceiling. Since he had not seen her on the rooftops before when he flew overhead, he assumed she was in the vents.

Finally losing patience, the Aerophibian's neuroshock beams shot through his eyes to slice through the vents.

Julie screamed upon noticing the metal underneath her give way, causing her to slide down and fall. Even with the way her fingernails practically scratched against the metal, she couldn't retain her stable position and descended. Believing that she was simply about to turn into a red splat on the floor, she prayed that she would be forgiven for the stupid inability to tell the difference between Ben and his copy. She had been so excited that he had come to her to apologize that she ignored all the signs that pointed he was _off_ - the cellphone, the insistence to get rid of Ship and even the general way he moved.

Panic rushed through his blood while she tumbled down from the ceiling. Before her body reached the ground, he spread his wings and quickly flew in time to retrieve the girl in his arms. Slowly decreasing their momentum, he landed so softly his feet made no sound.

"Does suicidal idiocy come naturally in humans?" he retorted shrilly, the Omnitrix flashing to return him to normal.

At some point in her fall, she had been shocked to note that the air had stopped slicing against her body so harshly. The feeling of warmth wrapping her in a tight embrace came later, when the floor didn't seem to be threatening to crash into her. Julie looked up at the blazing red eyes of the figure that held her. She should have been scared.

She didn't take in the question. Breathlessly, she spoke sincerely, "Thank you," clutching at his jacket for dear life.

That now increasingly familiar, annoying sensation of blood collecting on his cheeks made him drop her gracelessly on the ground.

Ignoring the 'Oof' sound from the floor as the girl landed roughly on her back, he ordered, "Do not do this again or I will not contain my partiality to finish you before the right time."

Recovering the device that controlled the cuffs, he snapped them around her wrists and then her ankles. Hopefully this would deter her from any more acts of defiance. Folding in the machinery to a more compact size, he attached the device to the belt loop of his black jeans.

Resting tentatively on his work area, he reached for the kit that contained all the medical materials he had. The petulant girl had forced his body to its limit, reopening the wound and stretching muscles he would have preferred to relax before the confrontation against the infuriating Ben Tennyson.

He even had Ben Tennyson to blame for the vulnerable body he owned. While being a Galvan meant that he was even more susceptible, he usually avoided any sources of injury. As long as he possessed this disgusting human body, he could never stop for a moment until he achieved his goal.

Trying to stretch his hand any farther towards his back was going to make his muscles complain even more, so he resorted to muttering begrudgingly.

Julie couldn't move much except for inching around to make herself more comfortable. She was rather grateful that Albedo hadn't lived up to his threat of locking her up in a box. Though she was more thankful about being caught before she hit the ground.

When he sat down in his workplace, she thought he was going to continue working. Instead of that, he started removing his clothes. Finding the situation a little awkward, she averted her gaze towards less interesting areas of the warehouse. Intermittently, she found her eyes taking curious glimpses in his location.

The first time, she had to bite the tip of her thumb to keep from giggling out loud in case he took offense. _So that was what Ben looked like underneath the clothes. _

Another glance and her gaze stuck. Her eyes widened in horror and pity. From where she was she noticed the mottled, battered flesh of his back. The boy was trying to reach the lower part of his back but quickly jerked in pain when he extended his arm too far. The muffled moan that emitted from him didn't escape her ears.

"I'll help you," she blurted out, her heart wrenching at the sound. He just sounded far too much like Ben for her to disregard.

With sceptical red eyes, he looked back at the girl who was pushing herself towards his position by kicking her heel against the floor. The process was slow enough that the action of moving an inch seemed a great enough success.

"I won't try to hurt you," she tried harder, still inching herself closer. "It would be low to do something like that. And you're hurt enough." She stared up at him with comforting dark eyes. "I'm partially at fault for that anyway."

Albedo stared at her pathetic form, marked here and there with dust she collected from the ventilation system that she crawled through. Sweat glistened on her skin, pasting tendrils of her black hair to her face. The determined need to shuffle herself closer to his area perturbed him. Everything about her bothered him to a certain extent. The vibrant smile she directed at him when she spoke troubled him the most.

Nonetheless, an offer of assistance was that. At his current state, he would not become fully functional by the time he acted on his vengeance. So he accepted.

Sitting down in front of the girl to stop her useless shuffling, he placed the medicine down her side.

Julie smiled brilliantly, picking up the small tub with both hands and placing it on her lap. Closing one of her hands into a fist, she used the other to apply the liquid over the red weal on his lower back.

"Thanks for saving me before," she conversed lightly, spreading the medication and staring intently at his back. She felt the muscles tense underneath her hand so she looked up to see if she'd caused him pain. However, she only saw the white hair that faced her.

"I'm sorry about that," she stated timidly, trying to be more gentle.

The feather light touches tickled his skin, causing him to shiver almost imperceptibly. Grimacing at the wall in front of him, he instructed himself to take a very cold bath, after all this.

"Now, we're even," she remarked mysteriously, her voice tinkling like wind chimes being played with the breezes. Her warm hand touched the small of his back lightly.

A _freezing_ bath.

---

**Author's Notes: **For the sake of plot contrivances, the ventilation system is unexpectedly huge so Julie can squeeze in. Do not try this at home, readers_. _XD By the way, I characterized Julie as a proactive Badass Normal and Determinator (which she currently is in canon, anyway) because I despise Damsels in Distress. :/

As you can tell from this chapter, I'm still pushing the limit of the T rating. I'm sure I must have broken it at some point. Warn me here, people! :|

_Read and review, just in case you forget! _;D


	8. The Search

**Author's Notes:** It's funny how my parents think I'm studying when I'm writing this fic because I have all of my old high school books open. All that just to remember what it feels like to be Ben, struggling with Physics. XD Uh-oh. I just revealed my age. ._.

I hate the idea of Julie with powers other than Ship. I just love her humanity and the idea that she can run alongside the rest of the team without the advantages of alien genetics. Unlike Elena, she doesn't begrudge them of it. That's just way awesome of her. (Sorry for dragging Elena into this but the comparison is just… there.)

_Alienphantom_: (Pedobear-mode) Shirtlesspicsyesplease! (Is one of the fan girls mobbing you. )

Chapter 8: The Search

During Physics class, Ben stared at the empty chair beside him. This should have alerted him that there was something wrong. Far too preoccupied with calculating the speed of a satellite orbiting Earth through the formula for circular motion, he simply overlooked it. Even a straight A student would need to stay at home if they were sick.

Later at night while he was in the living room doing his Biology homework, the phone rang.

Carl immediately answered the telephone and whatever conversation took place had contorted his face to a visible frown. With a concerned expression, Carl called out, "Ben, it's for you."

Midway through chewing the eraser end of his pencil in concentration, Ben spat it out and hurried over towards the phone. Taking it from his father's proffered hand, he greeted enthusiastically in a sing-song tone thinking that it may be Julie, "Ye-llo?"

The soft-spoken voice of Mrs. Yamamoto sobbed into the phone, "Ben, Julie's missing." The brown haired boy's grin dissolved. "She hasn't come home since yesterday. We're worried sick. I thought maybe she was at your place because I saw her with you last."

Flabbergasted with the end of her sentence, he responded in bewilderment, "I haven't se - ." Words sputtering to a stop as an idea presented itself in Ben's mind, dread washed down his spine like ice water.

"Ben?" Mrs. Yamamoto cried into the receiver, voice shaky in anxiety.

"I haven't seen her since yesterday, ma'am," Ben amended, left eye twitching evidently enough that his father perceived the instinctive action.

Lips flattened to a thin line, Carl narrowed his eyes in query.

Giving his father a pleading look, he mouthed soundlessly that he would explain later.

Ben continued to detail into the phone, "We'll try to find Julie and try to get back to you when we do. I promise." His green eyes hardened resolutely.

"O-okay," Mrs. Yamamoto stuttered meekly, completely believing his declaration. "It's just so unlike her to go off without saying anything. She won't pick up her phone, too." Some part of Ben wanted to rejoice in the idea that Julie not answering her phone the other day wasn't because they were fighting. On the other hand, this was swiftly stomped by the frightened part that wished she was just home safe and sound, if a little peeved at him. "I just hope she's okay."

"Me too," Ben agreed grimly, staring contemplatively at the carpet below him.

"We're planning to call the police," Mrs. Yamamoto affirmed but quickly added, "just in case," to ease and soften the possibility of Julie being harmed.

"Okay," Ben replied simply, holding in the glib muttering of, "For all the good that'll do," when he placed the phone back down.

While Mrs. Yamamoto may not have heard this, Carl did.

"What's going on here, Ben?" he interrogated coolly, crossing his arms across his chest as authoritatively as the extremely lenient man could achieve.

Sighing gravely, Ben fished through the pockets of his jacket to find his cellphone. Looking up with liquid green eyes at his father, he said, "It's a long story," while a cynical smile grazed his lips upon realizing the stereotypical nature of his words.

"I got time," Carl insisted, pulling up a chair that was beside him to suggest just exactly how much time. "Is this part of your alien stuff?"

"Yeah," the teen verified, nodding his head at the mobile he was currently dialling in. "I didn't meet up with her at all yesterday." He raised the phone to his ear. "I got an idea who did, though."

Squeezing his forefinger and thumb over the bridge of his nose, Carl questioned, "Is that poor girl going to be okay?"

There is a point where anger sizzled excessively that it would reach a level where it was no longer the raging storm it used to be and coiled into something calmer and colder. Ben's face was smooth of any lines but his voice spoke lowly, as if the mere suggestion of danger to her life was enough to send him to that point. He muttered curtly, "She'd better be."

Before Carl could ask anymore questions on the subject, Ben's call connected. "Hey, Gwen. We have to meet. Call Kevin for me, will you? Be at Mr. Smoothy in a few," Ben requested in a more collected manner than his frantically beating heart could attest to. His eyes inspected the metal ring around the Omnitrix. "Something's come up."

Ending the conversation with a quick bye, he shoved the cell in his pockets and began to check if he was set to leave. Coins jingling when he slapped the side of his jeans, he smelled his jacket and murmured how it would have to do.

"So you won't be home for dinner?" Carl confirmed defeatedly, rising from his chair.

"I don't know," Ben responded honestly, hovering over the exit. "But don't wait for me anyway." Twisting the knob, he pulled the door open to step outside.

Sometimes, in the life of a parent, one would question whether or not he has actually succeeded in parenting. Maybe one should have been more strict, more lenient, impose more rules, maybe less, need a little bit more coddling or let the child enjoy life with no restriction. And question whether these actions were enough to prove that one loved their child so very much. Nevertheless, Carl knew for certain that he had achieved one thing right as a parent. His child was a hero. That meant that child had just outdone his parent already.

"Just be careful, Ben," Carl conceded, nodding his head approvingly.

A bright grin of confidence flashed and the door clicked closed.

---

"Strawberry, rhubarb and garlic, Ben?" Gwen asked disgustedly while her cousin sucked excitedly at the straw attached to the strange combination of flavors.

"A better question would be 'who thought it was a good idea to make a garlic flavor for a smoothy'?" the older teen remarked disbelievingly, leaning on his green muscle car in a relaxed pose. At that observation, the female Tennyson nodded in agreement. "And I thought_ I_ was crazy."

"Nobody said you weren't," Ben retorted happily, which was received by the mutant through producing a smile that would have killed puppies by its sheer force of evil. "You don't even like smoothies. Sure sign of crazy right there."

"Can't argue with the expert," Kevin rejoined easily, cracking metallic knuckles in anticipation of a fight.

"Knock it off, you two," Gwen snapped finally, before the insulting words left Ben's wide open mouth. She returned the topic to the more pressing issue at hand. "Ben, tell me why I'm in front of Mr. Smoothy instead of studying at home."

"You study on a Friday night?" the brown-haired teen exclaimed incredulously, jaw dropping to such an absurd depth that Gwen became concerned about lock jaw. "Wow, you have just outnerded yourself." He failed to inform them that he was also busy with a Biology assignment earlier that evening but _nobody needed to know_.

"Watch it, Tennyson," Kevin threatened, surprising Gwen enough to halt the comeback on the tip of her tongue out of the curiosity with the follow up comment. "Don't diss people for their hobbies. While other normal people like to go out and have fun, Gwen likes to do old people hobbies like reading."

"Never help me," Gwen gritted in annoyance, to which Kevin laughingly asked 'What?' and was ignored. She turned to her cousin with a severe expression and ordered, "Ben, answer my question."

"Julie's missing," the brunette responded seriously, alerting Gwen that his light-hearted conversation was to shield the underlying fear; a protective mechanism. Somberly, he continued, "Her mom called to tell me that the last time she saw Julie, I was with her."

"Okay. So you know where she is, so let's pick her up and go home," Kevin interfered quickly, obviously bored with the situation.

"As in, yesterday," Ben clarified, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively to direct them helpfully towards his conclusion.

The information clicked.

"And you haven't met up with her at all since that last time you insulted her," Gwen stated, tilting her head sideways as if to ask for confirmation.

"She wouldn't answer her phone," he reasoned sheepishly, sipping the straw with overdone force. "I thought she didn't want to talk to me."

"I know what you're suggesting with all this," the redhead uttered, cutting to the chase, "but how can you be so sure? It could be anyone with an ID mask and a good reason to hate you."

"It could be Vilgax who went out with your girlfriend yesterday," Kevin intruded humorously, unable to help himself. Both of the Tennysons glared at him after the comment was made. "What? C'mon. I can't be the only who thinks that's funny."

"He's one of the few who had a personal meeting with her," Ben explained impatiently, shaking both hands and a smoothy into the air. "And that happened, what, two days before she disappeared? It's got to be connected." Something about his announcement just made him sound a bit like a conspiracy theorist but stranger things have happened in his life.

"Good point," Gwen considered, rubbing her forefinger against her chin contemplatively.

"Could be one of the Vreedles," Kevin chuckled, practically rolling on the pavement due to the hilarity of running away with the joke.

"Getting old real fast, Levin," Ben hissed flatly. Opening the lid to check if there was anymore smoothy left, he poured the rest into his mouth.

There was a garbage bin at the corner of the Mr. Smoothy store so he decided to head over there to throw his empty cup. Once Ben lifted the lid of the rubbish bin, his eyes widened at the sight that greeted him. Even underneath all the smoothy cups and other kinds of trash that littered the object, he recognized it.

"Guys, you gotta come over here," he summoned the others, waving a hand spastically to call attention to himself.

The sounds of shoes pattering over the sidewalk came closer, followed by a sarcastic male voice that snorted, "What, d'you find a portal to the Null Void in there?"

"Ugh," Gwen grunted in annoyance, rolling her eyes and planting her hands firmly on her sides. She stared at him pointedly and the taller young man raised his hands to surrender.

"No, even better," Ben responded honestly, sticking his hand into the bin.

This prompted his red-haired cousin to shake her head disbelievingly, stuttering, "You can't seriously be thinking of - Ew!"

His hand rifled through the sticky, wet trash to struggle to heave out the object that was apparently very important. A black firearm lined with familiar gray curlicues appeared with the soiled hand that Ben pulled out triumphantly.

"Ship?" Gwen verified, stepping away from the general area of where Ben was waving the trash covered hand. "If this isn't done by someone so ridiculously stupid -"

"Told you it's the Vreedles," Kevin joked.

"This means it's a message. Ship was supposed to be found," the redhead continued gravely, her green eyes staring at her cousin's own. "You're right, he's got to be the guy."

For some inexplicable reason, the seriousness of the circumstances made Ben decide to try crazy for a while. Using the deactivated Mechamorph, the brunette randomly pointed at different targets repeating 'pew, pew!' sounds.

"We should get that thing off Ship," Gwen declared to her boyfriend, paying no attention to the background noises of a mock battle. The 'Rat-tat-tat' produced by her cousin rang in her ears that she felt inclined to swat him off.

"I think I got some tech that can do the job," Kevin replied, raising an eyebrow when Ben pointed Ship at him.

"Ship probably knows where Julie went," Ben iterated in a saner tone, dropping the gun-shaped Mechamorph at his side.

---

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Gwen queried concernedly, as sparks flew from the equipment battering through the tech that currently disengaged Ship.

"Don't question the genius at work," Kevin retorted, spreading his arms defensively. "This tech is top o' the line and handled by the best; namely me." Returning to the equipment, he intentionally grinded on the restraint more forcefully than necessary.

"Well, genius, it's not coming off," Gwen retorted smartly, crossing her arms in front of her petulantly.

Just in time to her comment, the device snapped open.

Thrilled with the opportunity to tease her, the older boy baited, "You were saying?" as he moved in close enough to her that their noses were practically touching.

Cantankerously, she cupped his face with her far too small hand - nearly poking his eye - and pushed it off.

Warily approaching the metal table containing the slowly activating Mechamorph, Ben peered closely at it and addressed, "Ship?"

The circular design in the middle of Ship's face transformed into a crescent moon. Without warning, a series of explosive blasts were expelled from the gun, turning the garage into something that resembled Swiss cheese. The Omnitrix bearer had just narrowly avoided the attack, quickly dropping down to the floor during the power-up. Nonetheless, little strands of his hair at the very top were singed informing him just exactly how near the shots had been.

"My ride!" was the sound that came first after the fiasco died down. A part of the roof had created a sizable dent on the trunk area of the altered green Dodge Challenger.

"Ship?" the Mechamorph asked, having transformed to its original shape and wagging its tail in recognition of the figures in front of him.

"I am going to use that dog for spare parts, Tennyson," Kevin threatened, slowly advancing at the Galvanic Mechamorph who decided to yap enthusiastically and run around in circles on the counter. A forceful hand stopped him from getting much further, however. The girl attached to the hand mouthed the words 'anger management' when he turned to face her.

"I'd like for you to go on ahead but," Ben agreed flatly, dusting himself of the debris that collected on his clothes. "Julie likes this one." The Mechamorph, excited about meeting the actual Ben, began rubbing himself on the arm closest to him. Ben frowned. "You were trying to kill me before and now you like me; make up your mind!"

A mace had formed on Kevin's fist, "I'll make it up for you."

"Kevin," Gwen reminded, patting his arm down.

Grabbing the Mechamorph to face him, the brunette asked seriously, "Do you know what happened with Julie? Do you know where we can find her?"

Ship jumped out of his arms to make a complete green and black doppleganger of Ben on the metal table, with his one eye glaring fiercely at his audience.

"What? Julie was kidnapped by the gingerbread man?" Kevin hazarded a guess. The red haired girl rolled her eyes while the brunette slapped his hand against his forehead.

The Mechamorph replicated an ID mask, then transformed to the Ben look-alike again.

"A guy with an ID mask that looks like Ben," Gwen translated patiently, rising up from her previous position of having her hands on her knees.

"I can look like Ben with an ID mask," Kevin retorted, "which is completely the point of those things."

"The guy inside the ID mask still looks like Ben, is what I meant," Gwen clarified, making Ship circle around in enjoyment at being understood. "Since he's a Mechamorph, he can see through the technology that's being used. Ben using a mask to look like Ben is redundant unless there's something up."

Kevin clapped in appreciation, both eyebrows raised.

"Hey, I still do some research," the redhead explained, shrugging dismissively about her knowledge.

"Nah, I was taking about how useful you'd be at charades," the older teen remarked, grinning widely.

"How does any of that help? We already know that info," Ben cried out in frustration, scratching his scalp with both hands. He demanded, "Ship, where did they go?"

Pathetically sinking his head downwards in shame, Ship made small sounds of apology at his lack of knowledge in this section.

"Aww. Ben, stop giving him such a hard time," Gwen cooed at the small symbiote, who snuggled back lovingly at the redhead when she wrapped her arms around him. "He's trying."

"We've got to do this some other way, preferably with someone who talks English," Ben said eventually, swatting his hand down in defeat.

---

"I can't believe you," the red head hissed under her breath, dipping herself deeper into the passenger seat as if recoiling in disgust was somehow going to fix her problem with the lead. "This guy is not going to help. He's untrustworthy and unreliable. We might as well just ask a pathological liar and we'll actually get a better answer."

"Stop dissing on him," Kevin defended avidly, searching the street corner for their informant. "He's my friend. Besides, that neighbor of Julie's that we asked last night just looked at us funny because Ben was supposed to have been there and he just had a sudden case of amnesia. When we did get answers, those tracks led us to a dead end. _That_'s totally reliable."

"Somehow, this guy is going to make the search any easier?" Gwen snapped, staring at him incredulously. "That's really unexpectedly naïve of you, Kevin."

This time, he didn't contain his desire to glare at her openly.

"Hate to break it to you, Kev, but she's right," the brunette at the back inserted into Gwen's argument. "that guy doesn't exactly have a good track record." Bored with the uneventful situation, Ben pressed the lock and then unlock and repeated this until the other occupants of the car threatened his life.

This stopped for all of five seconds before Ben resumed pressing the button.

"Okay, that's it," the older teen decided, starting to unbuckle the seatbelt around him. He spoke in the direction of the redhead sitting beside him, "I'm going to slaughter your cousin."

"Kevin, my main man!" a voice from outside exclaimed, redirecting the mutant's attention.

"Argit!" Kevin greeted gripping the proffered hand through the open window.

"How you doin'?" the porcupine creature conversed animatedly. As though he noticed something peculiar, he focused on Kevin's face and questioned, "Something's different about you. Did you get a haircut?"

"Yeah, no," Kevin drawled flatly, placing his arm back down to lean on his car door.

"Gwendolyn," Argit stated coolly, standing up instead of inclining towards the car this time.

"Argit," she addressed simply, refusing to completely look at the conman.

"And Ben, savior of the Universe," the creature buttered up, to prevent any future beatings that may ensue. "Good job on that, by the way."

"Hey," Ben replied simply, completely not flattered at all. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"By the way," the mixture of matter began, conspiratorially leaning into his so-called friend. "We're trying to look for some information on a missing girl." A metallic arm reached out in the direction of the backseat to wave around meaningfully.

This happened for a few seconds before the savior of the Universe noticed the action since he was too busy contemplating whether to press the lock again.

"Oh, yeah," the brunette spoke, snapping back to reality and fumbling for his person to pull out a picture of the two of them. Slightly unwillingly, he handed the snapshot to Kevin, who had to have a minor tug of war before Ben completely let go.

The older boy flashed the picture in front of Argit. The porcupine-like creature inspected it, taking the photograph and spinning it in different angles while the quills on his back quivered every now and again as though uncertain.

"I dunno," Argit lied unconvincingly, prolonging the words to wait for any other sounds to intrude that glittered with the possibility of money. "Seems like 'ny old human girl to me. I wouldn't remember-"

Immediately answering Argit's prayers, Kevin's hand whipped a small gold cube and waved the object in his vision.

"Know what this is?" the older teen teased, pulling the currency back when the porcupine creature's hand made an attempt to nab it in his excitement.

"All the info from your good friend Argit, 's what it looks like," Argit replied excitedly, bounding from here he was to reach his hand much closer to the cube.

"Isn't that the gold cube from when we were transporting the Luodan crown prince?" the redhead beside him clarified, and received a mere 'Uh-uh' and a nod of his head. "I'm surprised you haven't spent it, yet." The continued attempt of Argit to retrieve the cube in Kevin's hand made Gwen roll her eyes eventually and shake her head disapprovingly, placing fingers over her eyes to keep from watching such a dubious transaction.

Turning to the backseat, Kevin rolled the gold dice into his palm which made it catch the light and sparkle.

"You know what this means to you, Tennyson?" the older teen questioned mysteriously.

Uncertainly, Ben answered the question with another question, "What?"

"Means you owe me one," Kevin translated, finally handing the cube into Argit's waiting palm.

---

Within a warehouse, a red-jacketed figure was engaged in altering and tinkering the box-like contraptions that surrounded him. All the while a girl in a black shirt lay on a cardboard spread out over the hardwood, rhythmic breathing the only sounds she was producing. Her eyelids were closed; the eyes underneath moving in the process of REM.

A beeping sound on one of the green monitors rang briefly, stopping when the white-haired teenager clicked a button on the front. The image of a familiar porcupine-like creature appeared in the screen.

"Okay, your message's out," the being stated simply.

"Splendid," the teen remarked, red eyes reflecting the light on the monitor sharply. The console blinked out to black. All that remained of the light was glinting on the teeth that showed underneath the smirking lips and on blood eyes that sparkled with a dark scheme.


	9. The Confrontation

**Author's Notes:** Read and review, please.

Chapter 9: The Confrontation

Dark brown eyes focusing on the small metallic object on the belt loop, she prayed to all the deities that she could recall that he remained oblivious to her endeavour. The sleeping figure shifted slightly which caused the device to move more towards the center, clinking almost inaudibly against his zip. Discounting the frantic, girlish embarrassment that flooded her body, her outstretched fingers budged nearer the remote while her fist clenched tighter. She managed to brush her finger against the corner before the white-haired boy shot awake into a seating position.

A larger hand snatched her wrist just underneath the discs, forcefully raising her hands over her head.

"What are you doing?" he demanded lowly, although she felt as though she heard his voice crack at the beginning of his sentence. It was probably the grogginess from having just woken up. Nonetheless, she noted the deep pink tinting his cheeks when his face hovered threateningly over hers. Not entirely surprising since he'd just accidentally been groped by his hostage. The compromising position they were in was also ample source for embarrassment.

Despite recognizing that she'd just been caught red-handed, she excused badly, "I just wanted to get myself some fresh air outside without waking you up." If he wouldn't slap her for saying something so silly, she would do so herself.

Cringing at his progressively more exasperated expression, she recoiled at the possibility of being struck to unconsciousness.

"It is astounding how very little neuronal cells you humans employ," he retorted flatly, unhanding her roughly enough for her to fall flat on her back. Reclaiming the red jacket hanging over the monitors, he placed the fabric around his shoulders.

Hopelessness had become too much for her. Biting her lip, she squeezed her eyes firmly to keep releasing frustrated tears. No longer caring whether he noticed her eyes lined with red, she asked quietly, "Why won't you let me go? Why won't you just leave Ben alone?" _She wanted to go home, play with Ship, sleep on a comfortable bed, eat on the dinner table with her parents. She wanted to hear Ben go on and on excitedly about the new Sumo Slammers movie. _

"Because you are vital to the accomplishment of my strategy. Because Ben Tennyson is an incompetent, indescribably foolish creature who does not deserve the power and responsibility attributed to the Omnitrix," was the cold explanation, dripping with open revulsion and hostility. A condescending sneer surfaced on his face. "Did that answer satisfy your query?"

_No. It didn't._

"It's your fault," she divulged unintentionally, even though sensibility was screaming and battering herself to remain quiet. But her mouth refused to comply. She sobbed in frustration, the sounds becoming louder with each word that dropped, "When you got stuck in that body it was all your fault. You keep using Ben as a scapegoat because your ego can't take that you made a mista-"

A hand shot out to grab a fistful of the front of her black shirt, dragging her towards him until they were face to face. Cowering, she pinched her eyes shut. Salt water gradually tracked down from her closed eyelids. Though she wouldn't allow herself to open her eyes, Julie could feel his warm, ragged breathe on her skin.

He _should _hate her. He would be completely within reason if he simply lost his temper and injure her irreparably. Somehow, he just simply could not muster the ability to hate her. Not ounce of negative feeling could push him to go as far as hatred.

Using his free thumb, he wiped the tear that freely rolled down her right cheek.

Abruptly allowing her to fall to the ground in a crumpled heap, he left her alone as she curled into a protective fetal position, cradling her own hands. Eventually becoming exhausted from releasing aggravated tears, she fell asleep.

For a few moments, he allowed himself to observe the steady rise and fall of her chest. Serenity settled on her face, returning the vibrancy that had been on her face before the layers of fear and desperation clouded it. Moist lips parted, exhaling a name he utterly despised.

Not long from now, the name would simply be a particularly horrendous memory. His appropriate body would be returned and would no longer be required to withstand the unbearable filth and stench that came with the one he owned for now. The desires of this body were demanding, constantly hounding until they were silenced. Sometimes he could no longer discriminate through his own needs amidst the ones being obligated on him. Ultimately, he would believe the body's influence was all _his_ own thoughts.

Every now and again, he wondered if they actually _were_ and he had only been convincing himself otherwise.

Albedo lifted one of the metallic boxes he had ordered, forcefully distracting himself away from gazing at the sleeping girl curled in the corner of the work area.

A message alert provided a better disruption, making him raise his head towards the screen in response.

The image of the dealer from the day previous flickered into view, confirming, "Okay, your message's out."

"Splendid," he uttered coolly, a satisfied smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

---

Red hair twirling as she tied the elastic band around her locks, Gwen Tennyson observed the line of buildings on the side of the road slowly become scarce. In place of the man-made structures, trees dotted the panorama. The Bellwood sign had disappeared into the horizon a long while ago and she was pleasantly surprised that her cousin hadn't resorted to childish antics to amuse himself.

Instead, he was sitting up straight with an extremely somber but alert expression while he stared out the windows.

Recently, his annoyingly cocksure, immature personality had resurfaced. Completely certain that it was the heroism beginning to get to the boy's head, she had met his unruly behavior head on. She felt as if she was ten years old again; referring to each other in insulting nicknames. For all her vitriolic attitudes towards him sometimes, she still recognized that all of her actions held an underlying worry. They had become surprisingly close due to their shared experiences that he had become the brother that wasn't Ken. She couldn't help but be concerned about Ben.

Her cousin remained soundless.

Reverting her attention towards the person in the driver's seat, she quietly inspected the dark eyes watch the road with an intense focus that sometimes frightened her. Gwen knew that he was well-versed in driving and considered all the actions associated with it as instinctive. A turn and he would change gears with the mindlessness of a work drone. He was definitely dwelling on something else.

With the length of time they spent together, the adventures they had, the relationship they formed, the redhead felt as though she had slowly become acquainted with him. Enough to feel as though she _knew_ him. From time to time, she would privately reconstruct what she thought she knew of him. For all intents and purposes, Kevin was impenetrable to her. He wouldn't lie to her if she asked. So it was really more of matter of not knowing where to start asking.

Nonetheless, she was comfortable with the knowledge that he cared for her as much as she did him. If the intensity in his eyes was anything to go by, she should rest assured that she held that place. While his honesty was incredibly heart-warming, this didn't stop her from worrying about him. She had given him the privacy of his own thoughts. Though she couldn't entirely prevent herself from speculating. In addition to this, she had presented her trust to him, wholly and completely. She genuinely believed in him, but she was unsure whether he believed in himself equally. Though his insecurity regarding his most recent mutation wasn't a secret, she was sure there were others that were.

Hence Gwen carried on fretting.

_They were her boys_. Perhaps they held different places in her heart but they were both in there regardless. Gwen would fight tooth and nail for their safety and well-being.

The trees lessened, the spaces in the land increased to give way to plains.

"We're in the middle of nowhere," her cousin piped in, puncturing a hole in the silence. From the corner of her eye, Gwen observed his eyebrows furrow in concern. "There's nothing here."

Unable to help herself, she baited, "_Totally _reliable." The constant barbs at each other; the dry witticisms volleying back and forth between them had become a twisted form of flirting. They worked so well that they danced through the game seamlessly.

For a split second, the driver removed his eyes on the road to glower at her.

"You weren't exactly bursting with other options either," he bit out, after returning his gaze to the road where it was needed. "Besides, we aren't even there yet."

"Are you sure he wasn't lying through his teeth?" Ben confirmed, squirming visibly in his seat. He had stuck his head in between the seats at the front. "We can't be on a wild goose chase while Julie's out there."

The monotonous scenery of a flat expanse of land was suddenly interrupted by a wide, dark building at the end of the road.

"How many times am I gonna say 'I told you so' today?" the older boy retorted lightly, playfully staring at the roof as if in contemplation. "Hmm… I should keep a counter."

"It's a miracle," the brunette in the backseat gasped, blinking repeatedly to ascertain that the building wouldn't disappear like a mirage once he closed his eyes.

Gwen herself was gawking in disbelief. Unfortunately, a more sensible side of her brain immediately recalled all the other instances of encountering the porcupine-like conman that she pursed her lips in realization.

"This doesn't feel right," she grated, crossing her arms distrustfully as the building hovered menacingly over the Dodge Challenger, dark shadows falling over it even in the bright morning sunlight.

Parking the car, the driver groaned, "Can't you lemme win on this? So Argit gave good info." He exited, closing the door carefully and checking if it was properly shut. "That's not so farfetched. He's my friend."

Both eyes half-lidded and her lips flattened to a thin line, Gwen stared up at him. She disagreed openly, "Kevin, he really isn't," shutting the door after she had stepped outside.

"Let's go find Julie," Ben started, turning to his cousin. This cut short a fight that was about to erupt again. "Do you think you can track her?" He fumbled in his jacket for the object that was going to help Gwen's clairvoyance and pulled out a small notebook. Rubbing the back of his head, he explained sheepishly, "She let me borrow some notes before and we were supposed to meet at Mr. Smoothy so I could give it back. Never got around to it." A cynical smile grazed his features. "Slipped my mind after that stuff happened."

Taking the notebook from his hand, Gwen closed her eyes to look for the girl's life signature.

"I'm stumped," she stated eventually, opening her eyes. She returned the notebook to her disappointed cousin. "I don't know what it is but something's interfering with the signal. I'm being blocked from pinpointing her location."

"Let's just barge in," the mutant suggested impulsively, his feet shifting from side to side in eagerness regarding a confrontation.

"Actually, I'll go in first then you guys follow in and watch my back," Ben directed, his voice taking an authoritative tone. He insisted, "Let's think about getting Julie out as first priority and butt kicking as second, okay?"

"Whatever," the older boy stated dismissively, waving a hand.

The trio turned to face the building, allowing them to process what it was exactly. A warehouse.

The Omnitrix-wielder had no issues about walking straight in. This was not the case for his companions.

"I feel like this happened already," Kevin remarked dreadfully, observing the front of the warehouse in suspicion. Despite the idea of having to concede with Gwen's previous comment, he still wanted to verbalize his doubts.

"Like déjà vu?" Gwen supplemented helpfully, letting her eyes wander around the barren fields. The warehouse was the only sign of industrialization in the area and stood out like a sore thumb. She inspected for signs of other people but the area was totally empty.

"I hate the smell of packing foam," Kevin grumbled unintelligibly, strolling beside Gwen towards the warehouse.

The decrepit structure was expectedly dark yet unexpectedly filled to the brim with materials as if the storage place was still in full production. Upon stepping inside, the brown-haired teenager noted the unsettling silence. Experience informed him that the gaping chasm was a waiting silence, looking forward to the entrance of its visitors.

He walked forward, searching constantly for indications that Julie was present in the area.

Meanwhile, Kevin and Gwen had lagged behind a little bit farther from the brunette's lead, keeping their eyes peeled for movement. They weren't as concerned with the direction that Ben was taking. Suddenly, a head of brown-hair peeked in from behind an aisle of crates to their right.

The red-haired girl noticed that the retreating green coat had disappeared in front of them.

"Ben?" she called out as quietly as she could so as not to alert anyone else but everyone in the immediate region. Slowly approaching the figure, she waved Kevin to follow her.

The male Tennyson faced the two of them and pointed his hand farther through the aisle. He instructed in a low voice, "Come. I believe that I saw something," pivoting quickly as he hurried towards whatever it was.

Jogging as soundlessly as possible, they avoided any boxes that have chaotically littered the path to hasten towards their destination. When they arrived in a more open space, they only found a wall with a gaping door and the usual cardboard boxes. The person leading them had disappeared into thin air. Gwen noted the suspicious looking machinery that bordered the room.

"What the--" the combination of solids began in irritation, though swiftly interrupted by a momentary flash of green. The attack sent both him and Gwen hurtling towards the room. They smashed soundly against the wall of the room.

Shaking her head to clear her very rattled brain, Gwen raised her head to gaze at where they had come in. Her blood froze. A sinister smirk appeared after a flash of green made the Vaxasaurian vanish back into the Omnitrix. The figure glowered at them through stark white bangs behind the glass window on the door, he click of the lock sounding as he pulled the lever on the side.

Kevin was swearing a litany of curses that were human and not while he rubbed the back of his head. His stare met the eyes of their enemy.

The annoying arrogant expression on the kid's face made the older teen's fist itch and sure enough, he rushed towards the door. The punch on the window was met with the resistance of bullet-proof glass, pain travelled up his peculiarly flesh skin. Blood trailed down the glass where his knuckles had connected. Kevin didn't shield the overwhelming shock that he felt, gawping at his soft, prone _human_ hands.

When he returned his gaze at the figure behind the window, the Galvan-turned-human's lips curved upwards into an ingratiating, taunting smile. The words 'thank you' were mouthed briefly before the red-clothed being turned his back towards them and stalked away. Kevin slammed his hand over the retreating image, caring little for the hurt that warned him against such actions.

"Kevin, your mutation…" the girl behind him gasped, examining the black hair that fell down softly across his face. As if to confirm it for herself, she placed a hand over his bare shoulder.

"I should feel happy about this but I don't," he muttered, gently moving away from her to touch the cemented wall. "Look." Struggling for a few seconds to absorb the matter, he was mocked by his stubbornly flesh hand.

Dread washed down the girl's face. Raising both her hands and pointing them at the door, she searched her body for the manna to travel up her arms. Nothing. In fact, she couldn't even detect her _own _life energy let alone make them surge outside.

"Okay," she snapped determinedly, dusting her hands over her pants as if it would help her. Her boyfriend decided to raise an eyebrow for her efforts. Trying not to twitch at his scrutiny and not be distracted by his scantily-clad body, she searched her memory for whatever in the Archamada Book of Spells that could possibly get them out. "I'm a little rusty at this so give me a moment."

Shaking her hands briefly, she pointed them again at the door. She tried a simple spell that could pick locks, rolling the words in her mind before outright iterating them.

"Was that supposed to _keep_ it locked?" he remarked teasingly, when nothing happened again.

She only rolled her eyes, not dignifying his immature ridicule with a response. Dropping her hands to her sides, she stared at the ceiling wondering whether Ben had even noticed they had gone.

---

Pivoting quickly when noticed that only pair of footfalls he heard were his own, he warily searched every nook and corner with his concerned green eyes.

"I knew I could always depend on your impressive idiocy when all else fails," his own voice told him, redirecting his attention towards the source. Narrowing his eyes at his white-haired clone standing authoritatively atop a stack of crates, Ben's right hand drifted on top of the Omnitrix.

"What happened to Kevin and Gwen? Where's Julie? What did you do to her?" the brunette demanded, stepping closer to where his opponent was.

"You are not in the position to be dealing interrogation, Ben Tennyson," the copy reminded, ambling languidly over the crates with his hands behind his back. "To be fair, I will grant you an answer to your last query. Though it really should be: What would transpire if you refuse to cooperate?" One of the hands stretched out, a small device in it was clicked.

"What? Why?" the brunette questioned in panic.

A thin tower of a stereo to the side of the red clothed figure buzzed out with a monotonous noise. Until a docile female voice rasped, "Ben?"

Green eyes widening, his mouth gaped at the radio transmission. Running towards the stack of crates, he exclaimed distraughtly, "Julie! Where are you? I'll come get you!"

"I don't kn--" the chafed, tired response sputtered out, cutting off alongside the humming background noise of the transmission.

Veering his glare back to Albedo, the owner of the true Omnitrix questioned in a deep, aggressive tone, "Where is she?" Both hands clenched into fists, he debated with himself if he should just attack if aggressive negotiation was the only language this guy would understand.

"If you hand over the Omnitrix that knowledge would be at your disposal," was the equally hard voice response, the pallid hand outstretching towards Ben.

Recoiling visibly, the brunette stood back farther with a confident expression. Dialing the Omnitrix to his choice, he declared, "I've got a better idea."

Straightening his body into an upright position, Albedo twisted his own Omnitrix to his own selection and slammed his hand over the watch.

Two flashes of green light signified the transformation of the two fighters.

"Humong--" he exclaimed in a British accent, stuttering upon noticing the pincers at the end of his arms that he had raised. Scuttling around in his sharp legs, he observed the Cerebrocrustacean transformation with chagrin. With equally British humor, he grumbled tetchily at the Omnitrix, "Brainstorm. How thoroughly amusing." He tapped the center of the device a few times.

"I agree," the Necrofriggian stated in a frosty tone, blowing a strong gust of ice at the peeved Cerebrocrustacean.

---

Yanking sharply against the shackles pinning her to the chair, she tried to slide her head off of the binding around her forehead fruitlessly. She sighed for the umpteenth time, more nagging voices accusing her of uselessness plaguing her mind.

Julie had fallen asleep, like normal humans would after they've had a row of unsuccessful escape attempts from a super powered captor.

She was caught between trusting and distrusting him; his mellow voice a perfect match to that of her boyfriend's own that it did lull her to a false sense of security. There were moments spent during her kidnapping that she would be convinced he was becoming nice to her. Then he would do something like choke her into unconsciousness.

Admittedly, she had been trying to run past him to escape. The continued rough behavior towards her, the threats and the general aura of discomfort convinced Julie that his moments of amiability were more mistakes than anything. The stark disparity between him and Ben in her mind only grew.

Reflecting over what Ben could possibly be doing now, her lips quirked into a minute saddened smile. She wanted desperately to be out of there. However, she was caught between wanting to be saved and wanting him to stay far away where it would be safe. While she knew that he was more than capable of fighting any opponents he came across, she was concerned that there would be one day - one _blunder_ of a day - where he wouldn't come out on top.

Heart wrenching painfully at the idea, she tried to distract herself with thrashing against the manacles again.

Something made a humming noise on her side, realizing that the grill-like holes on the console beside her was actually a communication device.

A nervous voice filtered through the noise, asking in honest confusion, "What? Why?"

The way he used the voice. It wasn't her captor.

"Ben?" her torn, bedraggled vocal chords grated out, the warmth of hope spreading on her chest. Once again, she jerked at the restraints to reach out for the console but was pulled right back.

"Julie! Where are you? I'll come get you!" was the speedy, anxious response that reverberated through the room. Those few words that came from the radio transmission revitalized her veins, an inappropriate giggle of happiness threatening to rise to her throat until she stomped on the desire. At the very least, she was able to hear his voice be used with caring words. The aspect that made her fall.

Dispelling through her excessive rejoicing, she returned herself to reality by answering with her currently scratchy voice, "I don't know where I am. But I think it's a ship of some sort." The monotonous silence greeted her again, the vibrating drone of the engine was almost inaudible. The radio transmission had cut off.

Frustrated, she yelled, "Ben?"

Slamming her small fists repeatedly on the smooth white arm rests, she imagined viciously that the surface of her chair was her captor's white-haired head. After releasing the aggression that had built up inside, it left a vacant low of emotion that drained all the energy from her. She was actually sorry for the horrid thoughts that had flashed through her mind.

The girl just hoped Ben was alright.

---

A bored Galvanic Mechamorph stretched its neck higher to peer through the window. Due to the length of time spent by the team rescuing his owner, he decided to be more proactive than them. Slipping through the opening underneath the door of the backseat, he slithered to the cement and made a move to enter the warehouse. But when he sent out a signal to detect all the technology located in the area, he noticed another indicator coming from slightly farther away.

Suspicious of this strange, misplaced signal, he pinpointed it specifically. Ship transformed into a massive fighter plane and followed the breadcrumbs.

---

"Brain freeze?" the Cerebrocrustacean remarked, bounding out of the way of the blast and scampering on top of the crates. "I think not! What with smoothies being absent in the immediate vicinity." Charging an electrical storm through his brain, he sent the attack through to the Necrofriggian who was flying rapidly to his position.

The flying blue creature became intangible, the electricity phased past his body and shot forward to the other end of the warehouse. Thinking quickly, the Cerebrocrustacean clicked the center of his chest.

A bright flash of green came from the core and a Methanosian appeared, only to be encased in ice when the Necrofriggian went through him.

Pivoting quickly to inspect his handiwork, Albedo swore under his breathe when he noticed the flames erupting underneath the frost and rapidly melting it.

Victoriously bursting outside of the ice block with a yell of, "Swampfire!" Ben found himself excited with the idea that the Omnitrix took his suggestion. "Hey, it worked!" The exhilaration engrossed him too much that he failed to notice the spindly long fingers that turned that clicked the center of the Omnitrix again. Light engulfed him, shrinking his size until he found himself staring at the Necrofriggian around the knees.

Staring at himself, his stomach ironically fell to lower than ground level.

"Upchuck," he muttered glibly to himself as a large foot smashed forcefully into his face. The solid wall that he became closely acquainted with in those few moments cracked at the force.

A Vaxasaurian unhurriedly ambled towards the fallen Gourmand's location because the distinction in strength had over inflated his ego. Upchuck jumped towards the nearest crate and stretched his mouth so he could fit the entire thing. Gulping the large box as quickly as he could when Humongousaur's thundering feet came within a few steps, he spat out the liquid energy balls.

With a raised arm, the Vaxasaurian blocked the blow with little more than an irritated hiss of pain.

When the Gourmand tried to jump out of the way, an enormous fist grabbed the small, struggling creature and squeezed.

"Hey, hey!" Upchuck shouted, trying to push his body outside of the continually compressing fist. "Ow! That hurts! Let go!" His struggling increased.

"Surrender the Omnitrix," the thunderous voice of the other Humongousaur ordered.

"In your dreams!" he snapped, kicking his tiny feet frantically from below him. Readying himself to bite through the skin of the Vaxasaurian, he opened his mouth wide. Just in time, however, the fingers squeezing around him clicked the core, transforming him back to his human body.

Pain laced up his jaws when he realized that he had just tried to bite Humongousaur with his human teeth. "What? I didn't time out, did I?" he asked himself, panicking rabidly at the concept. Only then did he notice that the fingers around him were still crushing his body.

Dots danced around his vision. He began to feel faint when he was slammed bodily down the floor.

Brightness burst from above before the feeling of smaller fingers wrapped around his neck registered. Trying to chase away the unconsciousness that threatened to descend on him, he watched the red clothed version of himself raise the other hand with what looked like a remote in it.

"Perhaps threatening bodily harm on you would not yield success," the Galvan considered out loud. "Will that change if I inform you that this object also controls the machinery around the hostage? " His red eyes narrowed. "Do you wish to learn what pressing this would achieve?"

Ire incited successfully by the threat, Ben discomfited sat up and pulled his arm back to punch his copy in the face. He was completely over joyed when the other boy's head snapped backwards at the impact.

The surprise of the hit made Albedo accidentally clutch the remote tighter, clicking the button that he had threatened to push.

The radio transmission crackled back to life, a shrill feminine scream reverberating through the warehouse.

---

Julie was simply sitting in silence, contemplating what other course of action she could possibly attempt next.

Out of nowhere, the restraints around her arms became painfully tight. A rustle of electricity under her palm warned her briefly of what was about to occur.

She felt as though every single cell in her body burnt from the heat of the electrical shock.

All she wanted through the experience was for the loud piercing sound in her ear to stop, causing the situation to be even more painful. Only later would she realize that the sound was her _own_ mouth screaming uncontrollably from the pain.

---

Red eyes widening at what his opponent had forced him to do, he rose quickly to slam a foot against the green clothed teenager's abdomen. The anger that raged through his veins made his foot squash harder down the boy's vulnerable flesh.

"Julie," Ben choked out, staring straight at accusing blood eyes that blazed like a forest fire.


	10. A Sorta Fairytale

Chapter 10: A Sorta Fairytale

The Mechamorph sped over the vast field of plains, slowing down to descent upon isolating the strange feedback of technology from his detection signal. A streamlined jet sat on the plain, caressed by the blades of grass flapping in the wind. The place was silent except for the hum of the plane's engine.

Ship transformed back into his original form, plopping on the wet grass. With his head tilted curiously to the side, he decided to bound towards the jet to inspect it even more. He slid through a crack under the closed door.

---

Crouching down to peer directly into the writhing boy under his foot, Albedo cracked his knuckles audibly.

"Resistant as always," he muttered exhaustedly, stepping much harder on the teenager's vulnerable middle which caused him to cough up blood. "If you will not be convinced to remove the Omnitrix of your own will, there is the alternative of demise. Any final words, Ben Tennyson?"

The radio transmission rang tauntingly in Ben's ears, inducing the electricity of adrenaline to rage down his veins. Even the imagination of what could possibly be causing her agony made the relatively calm boy consider rearranging his clone's face so extensively until they no longer resembled. Head sideways on the floor with eyes that looked into a vague distance, he discreetly wedged the edge of the Omnitrix on a crate's sharp corner to turn the dial. Red liquid trickling down his cheek, he murmured coldly against the puddle forming on the floor, "You hurt Julie."

"What is that?" Albedo snapped, further irritated by the incoherent grumbling as if it was a personal insult. Clenching his right hand into a fist, he grabbed the black shirt of his opponent via the collar.

"Hero time," the savior of the Universe gargled through the blood that collected on his throat, smiling forebodingly to himself as he slammed the Omnitrix against the edge of the crate.

The flash of light startled the red clothed figure, forcing him to use his punching hand to shield his eyes. Thrown forcefully backwards from his position, Albedo struggled to remain upright as he landed on his feet. A roar of the word, "Rath!" echoed in the cavernous warehouse.

"Let me tell you something, Albedo of the Galvan!" shouted the orange creature that emerged from the transformation. He spat the blood on the floor as if it was as inconsequential as water.

Charging towards the stunned copy, Rath seized the collar of the white shirt and one black adorned leg. "Torturing! Girls! Is! Not! Cool!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, as he heaved Albedo's body over his head and threw it with great force at the other end of the room. Elongating the claw in each paw, he ambled towards the now fallen aisle with crushed crates in the middle. He growled, "I'm going to pound your head in so bad your face is gonna come outta your butt!"

A trembling hand reached out from the wreck, slapping the Omnitrix weakly.

The Methanosian that materialized quickly dispersed the rubble around him, declaring flatly at his enemy, "Yes." He stepped outside the mess of broken wood. "Decrease what passes for your intellectual capacity to absurd lows."

"What's that!" Appoplexian shouted in decibels that shook the age-weakened timber supports on the roof. "Did you just call me stupid!" Growling ferociously, he rushed to the Methanosian in a few steps and ripped off the pliable plant arm before anyone could blink. Without further ado, he proceeded to repeatedly beat the Methanosian with his own severed arm. "Who's stupid now! Huh!"

Successfully dodging the latest hit, the Methanosian slid down the hardwood to place a distance between him and the rampaging Appoplexian. Before the enthusiastically raging creature could come closer, the Methanosian threw seeds with the one arm left. The seeds immediately dug into the soil underneath the floor and rapidly grew, creating a blockage around Rath's way. In the eternally angry creature's exasperation, he threw the arm at the direction of the plant being's forehead.

"You are," was the simple answer, while the Methanosian extended vines from his severed arm to connect and regenerate the arm flying its way to him. After the reattachment, he clenched the fist as if to confirm its functionality.

The explosion of bits of plants was completely unexpected, some sections splattering on the Methanosian's face.

---

Eternity. That was how long it felt like. The surge of electrocution that travelled like a second heartbeat through her body had been the only thing she could think of. When the torture passed, her head lolled down in exhaustion. The areas around her body that had restraints still felt raw. At the corner of her eyes - eyes that desperately forced themselves to remain open - she could distinguish the red burn marks underneath the shackles.

After all that, numbness had set in. Her mind was just completely blank for the moment while she tried to wash the memory of the hurt away.

Then she registered the slowly spreading familiar black and green design that engulfed the previously white interior.

"Ship?" she hazarded, an unpredictable glimmer of hope blooming in her chest.

For a short time, only silence greeted the girl. Eventually the engine purred much louder and the console to her side lit up with a neon green color. The Mechamorph responded with bubbling eagerness, "Ship!"

Blissful laughter burst out of Julie, rejoicing at the sound of her pet's technological voice.

The shackles over her limbs and head unfastened with a snap. Gingerly lining the row of blisters that dotted her skin with her finger, she commented dryly how ugly the red belt shaped marks over her wrists were. Though upon raising her head upwards, her eyes glittered with delight.

She stood up and made her way towards the exit. Unlatching the door, she stepped into what she assumed was the main control room. The Mechamorph greeted her again, moving a chair closer so that she would seat herself on it. Following her pet's request, she stared at the interior of the ship with awe and wonder. Julie could see through the view outside that the plane had lifted off and was already travelling in the sky.

Dwelling on what may be occurring to Ben at that time, she hoped dearly that he was doing fine.

"Take us to Ben, boy," she instructed nicely, stroking the console in front of her. She smiled in excitement, able to dismiss the pain on her limbs. "Let's get to where the action is." _She wanted to be useful._

---

"Ugh!" the quarter Anodite - currently completely human - girl cried out in exasperation, kicking the door uselessly. "How did we fall for that trap?" the peeved redhead asked her indistinct reflection on the window, her green eyes glaring so fervently she detected the light from it bounce off the glass. "I feel so blind!"

The black-haired teenager lounging on the wall decided to slide down loudly on the ground. As if it would somehow amend their lapse in sensibility, her companion stated from the floor, "He's getting better at acting, d'ya notice?"

Turning back to face the crouched figure of her boyfriend, she placed her fingers underneath her chin contemplatively. With a shrug, she added to his point, "Well, Ben also refers to himself in third person nowadays so they're getting pretty similar."

"Wait, hold up," he tutted, his hand raised like a child asking for attention from a teacher. With a raised eyebrow - so very human eyebrow, he verified incredulously, "Did you just say Ben's getting smart?"

"…" Gwen stared blankly at him for a while, then sighed, "I knew there was something wrong with how I phrased that." Boring imaginary holes through the ground with her glower, she imagined that her wish would actually come to life so that they could dig themselves out of their entrapment. "With any luck, Ben's not losing."

"Why is that whenever we're fighting this guy, we're always trapped?" Kevin asked the room in general, not really expecting an answer.

"Maybe your roguish charm attracts bad luck, who knows?" she bit petulantly, placing her hands on her hips.

Without missing a beat, he replied coolly with, "Nah, you're hotter. It's gotta be you."

A mischievous smile slowly appeared on the redhead's lips while she warned coyly, "Careful there, Kev. You might give people the impression that you like me."

"What people?" he snorted derisively, rolling his eyes to the ceiling at the frustration in their situation. They were like sitting ducks, simply waiting to be shot.

"Sorry to interrupt," Julie perked curiously, preventing the smile that was practically spilling from her lips. "but do you guys need any help?"

"That one," Gwen retorted simply, before turning to the pink clad girl that had miraculously appeared. "Do you think you can open the door?"

"I don't think so," Julie replied, tugging with all her might at the handle. "I think it's like the others that only works on a voice prompt. I don't speak whatever he speaks and I don't sound like Ben, so…" She stared up questioningly at the girl inside the room. She offered, "Maybe I could use Ship to blast open the door."

This was apparently alarming enough a suggestion that the elder boy quickly intervened, "Unless you want everyone else close by to go up in smoke, you won't do that."

Both the girls' eyes widened.

"Okay," the black-haired girl agreed, dragging out the last syllable as she considered another solution. Pursing her lips, she tried again, "What about merging Ship with the tech? Maybe he can unlock it like that." The Mechamorph in question was bouncing up and down playfully, waiting for any instructions.

"This room's kinda well protected," Kevin started to explain, rising from his position to get much closer to inspecting the tech outside. "If Ship does deactivate the tech he's gonna join that in tech afterlife." He was slapped at the side for daring to joke about that. "I got a better idea. You do it."

Julie's eyes widened in disbelief, her mouth stuttering, "M-me? I don't know anything about mechanics, let alone alien tech."

"Follow my instruction and we won't blow up," he announced confidently. He paused. "Maybe."

"Well, that's not very reassuring," the girl grumbled to herself, her pink clad shoulder drooping in dismay. Examining the confusing series of buttons, panels, wiring, levers and plugs around the tech, she thought that it was possibly the most complex puzzle she would ever have to solve.

Squaring her shoulders, her dark eyes took a determined glow. "Let's do this," she accepted, nodding her head towards the tech. All the while, Ship observed the conversation with great curiosity.

---

The Appoplexian had burst through the barricade of trees that the Methanosian produced and had readily punched a hole through the plant organism's middle.

"Phew!" Rath exclaimed in disgust, slapping a hand over his face at the smell. "D'ya just let loose!"

Jumping backwards away from his opponent, a grimace adorned the plant creature's face at the insult. A hand clicked the center of the core, light engulfing the Methanosian in the process.

---

"That smell is starting to bother me," Gwen muttered to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose lightly.

As if the older boy only noticed recently, he started sniffing the air. Black eyes enlarging in alarm, he insisted at the girl fumbling with the wiring, "Hurry up!"

Julie's panic only made her fingers seem to tremble more, swearing to herself when the object she was supposed to detach dropped back into the maze of wiring. The urgency of dismantling the machinery was growing, placing unwanted pressure on her shoulders.

"Maybe you should get her to turn off whatever's releasing the gas first?" Gwen insisted shrilly, behind both hands clamped over her face.

"Can't. Only when the room opens will the gas release stop," he clarified grimly, sharing the frustration that Julie was expressing openly. "If not, we're screwed. All the tech is to make a sure kill. He doesn't wanna go with us so opening the room's gonna stop it."

Thoughtfully, the redhaired girl mumbled, "How do you know about all this anyway?"

"Seen it in action. Long story," he replied concisely, pointing at another wire from the one Julie was trying to cut. "Not that one!" He fielded through the memories. Middle man. A transaction. Decommissioned Plumber. Product testing for the buyer. Some careless idiot dropping clues for authorities to see. High-end buyer liked the outcome. Successful deal. Through it all, he barely felt anything. Maybe a little bit of enjoyment over the pay out, but nothing human like sympathy and all that.

Right now, he wasn't exactly thrilled to follow the careless idiot's footsteps.

Julie became visibly apprehensive enough at the correction that her hands started shaking again.

Gwen observed the emotion that flashed on his face after his reply. It was so fleeting she wouldn't have noticed it if she didn't care. The emotion was detachment. Strangely enough, there was something distressing about that. She was supposed to be fearful of when he was angered, right? Instead she was fussing over his indifference. Compelling herself to dismiss her worries, she returned to more critical matters.

"Calm down, Julie," she soothed, upon seeing the wire slip on the nervous girl's hands again. "You're doing great."

Her boyfriend's eyebrow was raised as if to ask how she presumed to know that. Gwen just looked at him flatly.

---

Suddenly, Rath was slammed against the wall and his body was quickly being covered in spider webs. As he tore through the first layer, another batch came shooting forward that ultimately pinned back his arms again. Growling, he struggled constantly at the ever increasing ball of webs around his form.

"How disturbingly easy, Ben," the Arachnichimp taunted, using six limbs to amble much closer to the stuck Appoplexian. The raised tail continued to shoot webs. "Are you insulting my capabilities?"

Being captured in a pink circular disc made the Arachnichimp stop releasing the spider webs.

"No, never," the quarter Anodite responded sarcastically with a devious smirk on her face, her outstretched hand finally releasing the manna to bind their enemy.

Kevin chuckled in appreciation at her surprise attack. Forming weapons with his fists, he readied himself for any possible retaliation. Though he was quite convinced that they had the guy under their metaphorical thumb.

The transformation back to his original form was something no one saw coming. Besides pivoting to inspect the ragtag team that have arrived as Ben's reinforcements, he remained motionless.

Julie automatically hovered a hand over her wrist protectively, the sting from the blisters quickly informing her to stop touching her arm. The Galvanic Mechamorph on her side hung on to the arm when she placed it down her side, slithering upwards and settling on her shoulder.

The Appoplexian was screaming incoherently under the bag of spider webs that completely covered him. The words were mostly composed of asking to be let out and wondering what was going on.

"It appears that I may have to resort to more drastic measures," the figure in the red coat mumbled deeply, smirking behind the deathly white curtain of hair that fell around his lowered head.

Gwen finally noticed the small metallic device that glimmered within his hand, more delayed than she should have. The device was pressed before she could use her manna to pry it from his fingers. Tiny gray boxes in the surrounding area suddenly burst forth, unfolding themselves until they converted back to their robot form.

Blindly, the robots jumped in to attack the huddled group. The redhaired magician had to pull away her control of the pink disc, giving their enemy the chance to slam himself against the nearest wall to break the restraint with an impressive shatter.

Ship took the attack as a cue to form the armoured suit around his owner, who immediately fired against the nearest robot attacking. Punching and pushing the fighting machines out of the way, she focused the cannon towards the side of the spider web that encased creature on the wall. She mumbled pleadingly to its general direction, "Please stop moving too much, Ben."

Ship made a noise to confirm that he was ready to fire. Trying to forego her hesitations, she discharged the beam. Slamming her elbow against the robot that launched itself from her side, she kept her view clear to find out what had happened to her shot. The spider webs burst open with a flash of light, the creature that released itself from the Omnitrix leaked out from the hole.

"Goop?" the green blob gargled in confusion, staring at himself. Tapping the core to check for malfunctions, he grumbled, "I wanted Humongousaur. Stupid Omnitrix."

A large fist smashed down on his place, missing the anti-gravity disc by only a few centimeters. "Your wish has been granted," the looming Vaxasaurian rumbled, his shadow darkening the area around Goop considerably.

In the meantime, the three other teenagers were being overwhelmed by the number of robots that seemed to appear from every corner of the room. Smashing one of them with his mace fist, Kevin glanced at Gwen alternating between using barriers to create some distance between her and the attackers to throwing circular blasts of manna to destroy them.

"They're not sentient," she declared through the din of metallic scraping and smashing, "so the only advantage they have is numbers."

Grabbing two machines assaulting him from both sides, he slammed them against each other until they both shattered. "We can take 'em," he gritted, a manic smile gracing his thin lips as he charged at a group of robots ready to hack at him.

Julie was making sure to take down a group with one shot instead of firing at them individually.

The Polymorph evaded another attack smoothly, throwing acidic slime at the Vaxasaurian on his way to reaching the anti-gravity projector.

With a hiss of pain, he slid his large arm against the edge of a crate to remove as much of the goo as possible. The Vaxasaurian clicked the core, transforming to an Aerophibian. With his neuroshock blast, he shot at the anti-gravity disc. Managing to nick it at the side, the object flew across the room and left Goop to become inert.

"Uh-oh," the puddle on the floor said.

Red wings spread out to use the vulnerability to his advantage, he was unable to see that a cannon had been focused him. It was fired before he lifted off. The Aerophibian tumbled off the crate, surprise flooding his face at the strike.

The armored Julie placed her cannon down, checking if the anti-gravity disc was fine enough to travel back to Goop on its own. When it began hovering, she became comfortable enough to return her attention to destroying the robots assaulting them.

The number of robots were thinning out, though the three teenagers were starting be overcome with exhaustion at having to fend off their numbers.

Out of the blue, the doors of the warehouse exploded open and causing the large wooden objects to recoil off the aisles of crates they had slammed against, splintering the wood. Two members of the Plumber organization stepped into the warehouse, their badges on show. Upon noticing the commotion, they quickly assisted the teens with handling the robots.

While Julie seemed preoccupied with slamming her armored arm against the machine to her side, the Aerophibian had risen from his fall and was contemplating whether to attack or not. Rationalizing with his conflicted mind that he was about to attack the Mechamorph instead of the girl inside, he readied himself for the strike. These precious seconds of delay obliterated his chances. From out of nowhere, the Polymorph wrapped itself around him to limit his movement.

The Polymorph gargled privately, "Don't event think about it," in a tone Albedo was surprised to hear from someone other than himself.

The last robot fell, Kevin's fist had destroyed it to minute pieces on the ground.

One of the Plumbers, a male Kiniceleran, sped towards the two Omnitrix wielders. Coincidentally, they both timed out and was returned to their default forms.

"Finally, we gotcha," the Kineceleran chuckled, grabbing the red coated version of Ben roughly through the back of the coat. Before Albedo could so much as raise his hand to punch the Plumber, his hands were cuffed together. "Making us run 'round for you like that was a big fat waste o' time."

Turning to the grinning Ben, who was evidently proud of his work, the Kineceleran simply dropped him a, "Uh, yeah. Good work, kid." The Plumber patted the teen's brown haired head awkwardly, ruffling it much to Ben's annoyance. After having done so, the Kineceleran went towards his Arachnichimp partner.

Gwen went behind her boyfriend, who was enjoying the activity of kicking the bits and chunks of the robot remains all over hardwood. He turned to her once she tapped his shoulder. Caring little for the other people present in the scene, the two embraced ardently.

The Mechamorph had removed itself as Julie's armor, dropping into her open arms after he transformed himself back to his original shape. Squeezing her pet in a tight and comforting cuddle, Ship responded by rubbing his head against her cheek.

Gawking incredulously at the scenario, Ben switched his gaze back and forth at the pairs hugging. "Nobody loves me!" he shouted vindictively, shaking his fists overdramatically into the air to mock-mourn his miserable situation. He muttered to himself how saving the world had no rewards.

The symbiote slithered down the floor and followed his owner as she walked closer to the complaining hero. Julie giggled at his display, staring at him fondly while he feigned blubbering. Fluttering her eyelashes cutely even if he was busy pouting at the floor, she invited sweetly, "Come here," as she opened her arms.

While she had her arms encircled around him, he noted the tinge of jasmine wafting into his nose while she dug her head into the crook of his neck. Sighing miserably, or pretending to anyway, he murmured, "I bet this is a pity hug."

"You want me to stop?" she responded teasingly, raising her eyebrow and loosening her arms as if she was about to let go.

Reciprocating the hug with a goofy grin, he amended swiftly, "No, no! Pity hug's good."

He recalled what he was supposed to do when the notebook pressed against him while they were hugging. "Oh," he started bashfully, scratching the back of his head as he pulled out the notes from his jacket. "Thanks for letting me borrow your notes."

She received the notebook with a smile. "You're welcome."

Gwen and Kevin had already stepped out of the warehouse to follow the Plumbers so Ben and Julie also exited.

The sun was sinking into the horizon, peeking through wispy clouds that seemed almost painted on in their lightness. The eyes of the figure confined by the Plumbers seemed to take on a more fluid red, glowering at the green clothed teenager who once again defeated a threat. His eyes shifted towards the girl standing beside Ben Tennyson. She met his intense gaze for a second, before quickly averting it. Julie tugged at her long sleeve to try to hide the blisters, not from him but from herself.

Ben noticed the stare, making him feel the same protective surge in his chest even after the Plumbers and their prisoner flickered back to the Plumber jail in the Null Void.

Upset, he hadn't tried hiding his discomfort at it. "What was he staring at you for?" he asked at the empty part of the lot where the Plumbers used to be, even though the question was directed at Julie.

The girl at his side just looked perplexed, but his cousin slapped a hand on her forehead in response.

"Unbelievable!" the red-haired girl grated out, knowing that whatever may come out of his mouth next might instigate another fight between them. She decided to stop it with her dry comment, "Stop being jealous of everyone, Ben!"

Flustered, his face colored so much that he was competing rather well with the color of the sunset.

Instead of being annoyed, Julie laughed. After all that had happened to her, it was really difficult to be angry of something so mundane. The concept of the Galvan being remotely interested in her was also so preposterous to her. This just increased how funny it all was and made her laugh longer.

"Can we go?" Kevin intruded impatiently, waving his hand pointedly at the direction of his car.

The teenagers started walking.

Ben felt the need to stop to be able to finally make amends for his last mistake with her. The pink clad girl halted as well, asking concernedly, "Ben?"

"I'm sorry," Ben apologized sheepishly, staring at the ground to avoid having to look at her. "For what I said last time. I didn't mean to suggest," he sighed painfully, "well, what I did. You fought really bravely that day and I acted like such an insensitive jerk. I didn't really mean it, I was just worried about you. I'd totally understand if you--"

There was the feeling of arms wrapped around his body.

"You have a good heart, Ben," she responded mysteriously, staring him in the eyes. At the closeness they were in, he felt himself return to the shyness he had around her before he had asked her out. "I forgave you a long time ago."

The brunette breathed out in relief.

There was a playful teasing twinkle in her eyes, she added, "But that was really mean of you. It broke my heart, you know. Tiny little pieces and everything."

"I know," he winced visibly, not noticing the expression she was showing.

She laughed, sounding for all the world like breezes playing with wind chimes. To Ben, the entire world suddenly smelled of jasmine. He eventually joined in her laughter.

Upon approaching their ride back home, Julie saw the large dent on the trunk of the Dodge Challenger. Incredibly curious, she decided to lampshade its existence through asking, "What happened to your car, Kevin?"

She didn't miss the pointed glare directed at the Mechamorph bounding at her feet. Since Kevin refused to unglue his glower on his own, Gwen decided to elbow him to stop him. His reply was a grouchy, "Long story." Then his memory seemed to click information into place. Kevin turned with a dark grin towards Ben, who stopped walking to the car altogether. The older teen declared decisively, "Since you owe me, you're paying for repairs."

"W-what?" Ben stammered disbelievingly, fumbling around his jeans pockets for his money. "I don't think my allowance can even--"

"Better start saving then," Kevin advised with a shrug and entered the car.

"Great," the savior of the Universe mumbled, dwelling on the possibility of being paid for saving the world. It really should be classified as a job at that point.

Remembering something as well, Julie stopped in her tracks and turned to her boyfriend with wide, worried eyes. "What am I going to tell my parents? I've been missing for three days." Groaning, she placed her face into her hands. "I have no believable excuse!"

Patting her back consolingly, the mellow green eyes of the boy with her reassured her, "We'll think of something."

She raised her eyes to peer into his, while he stared back at her with an equally nervous smile. "I'm going to be grounded forever," Julie sighed dejectedly into the sky.

They continued to stroll anyway. The scenery was awash with fiery colors, glowing like the fire of life. The colors tinted the car with an unnatural, dream-like atmosphere.

Striding towards the car, his pinky finger reached out and curled into her own pinky. There was a quiet understanding being passed in the mere connection of their fingers. They walked together into their sunset, like some sort of fairytale.

---

The creator of the Omnitrix, Azmuth, marvelled at the painstaking effort to contain the forged version of his device under wraps. The computers within the laboratory were extensively protected. Passwords upon passwords, firewalls with each step taken; all such things enforced before the blueprints and information could be accessed.

Allowing the hardcopy of the blueprints to fall down from his hands, he stepped outside of the laboratory and waved away an offered accompaniment. When he had finally arrived within the cockpit of the ship he was to use to visit Primus, he let himself observe the flickering red and yellow reflecting on the surfaces of the surrounding buildings. Another chunk of the laboratory structure descended. More flames licked at the edifice, swallowing it whole. Plumbers cleared out the scenery. By the end of the process, nothing was left.

Everything in a pile of ash.

---

Flung gracelessly through the jail, the red jacketed figure stumbled inside and actively prevented his collision with the wall. The door slammed shut behind him. Cursing through gritted teeth, he patiently sat himself down on the uncomfortably solid chair.

The Galvan was certain the new prison cell was smaller than his previous. Noting belatedly that he was scratching himself again, he removed his hand from the evidently inappropriate place and stared angrily at the door.

The most recent incident simply added another reason to the ever increasing list of justifications for wanting to kill Ben Ten. He forced himself not to think of black hair or dark eyes. _What irrationality descended on him that made him believe that it was a good idea to enact his plan in that manner?_

Not too long however, he was interrupted from his thoughts when a Plumber stopped by his cell and dropped a holo projector through the small opening. "Message," was all that was said. The clanging sound of the device on the floor filled the silence that followed after.

From the construction of the projector, it wasn't a recording. Plucking the device off the floor, he examined the machinery for a few moments before activating it. He had placed the projector on a table beside the chair, his fingers forming a loose steeple in anticipation.

The image that greeted him was unexpected, to say the least.

A creature, chin bordered with tentacles and a body heavily altered with technological and physical enhancements, looked confidently from the holo through to Albedo. A Chimera Sui Generis whose name echoed through the galaxies, followed directly by trepidation and horror, stood within the small projector that misrepresented the intimidating size of the figure.

The fingers originally intertwined in front of Albedo's face loosened, revealing the thin lips partially opened in revelation. "Vilgax," Albedo pronounced carefully, his head rising a nudge in barely veiled surprise.

"Albedo of the Galvan," the Chimera Sui Generis greeted smoothly, a deep voice that rumbled with hidden twisted amusement. "I have a _proposition_." Albedo's eyebrow raised. "With regards to Ben Tennyson."

Upon the mention of this name, fury bubbled like a cauldron in the chest that was similar to Ben's own, searing hatred raged inside the veins opposing the kindness that the real Ben radiated with. The pale fingers unwound themselves from one another to pierce the skin of his own palms.

"You have my attention," Albedo responded simply, his quiet voice echoing in the dark Plumber prison.

_**The End.**_

---

**Author's Notes: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed and followed this story regardless of the horribly done romance and poor excuse for a plot. I feel like I should have done better considering how predictable the direction was. The original intention of the story was to flesh out the respective personalities of the central characters within the story. Every other aspect of the story fell by the wayside. Though I'm rather overjoyed about one thing about this project: _I finished._ While I enjoyed cracking my head at this challenge, hopefully I was able to give you a blockbuster, brainless source of amusement during the process.

Love you all! And _Happy Valentine's Day_! I hope this is a passable enough gift.


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